Brand Strategy Archives : Page 6 of 16 : Persona Design

Brand Profiling: How Brand Performance and Purpose Are Inextricably Linked

February 9, 2016/0 Comments/in Brand Personality, Brand Profiling & Positioning, Brand Promise, Brand Story, Brand Strategy, Brand Values, Branding, Business /by Lorraine Carter

Ask the people in any room for a show of hands for who leaves the house to go shopping for unheard of brands in nondescript shops. No hands will go up. Wishy washy products and unremarkable, generic services certainly don’t motivate anyone. However, instantly recognizable market leaders, famous brands, cults and classics pack in plenty of appeal by projecting a purpose that’s engaging and compelling for both employees and customers alike.

Purpose Equals Purchase

“Consumers choose the brands that engage them on their passions and interests 42 percent more often than they do those that simply urge them to buy the product being advertised,” according to a 2014 report by Think with Google, undertaken in partnership with TNS and Ogilvy. Interviews with purchasers of auto vehicles, beauty products and smartphones indicates that, more than ever,

Purpose = Purchase.

Profit is Not Brand Purpose

The sole intention, or purpose of a business, is not, and cannot be, just to make money. Rather, profit is a consequence of doing business. In 2000, Peter Drucker, the father of modern management theory, shared his thoughts on this topic as mentor to the former chairman of Procter & Gamble, “The purpose of a company is to create a customer” and “A business….is defined by the want the customer satisfies when he or she buys a product or a service. To satisfy the customer is the mission and purpose of every business.”[1]

Image via www.gapingvoidart.com, ©Hugh MacLeod

What Does Your Brand Stand For…And Upon?

One cannot over emphasize the importance of building a strong base as a platform for a brand, using the following key elements as bricks in its foundation:

vision
mission
values
purpose
promise
positioning
architecture/hierarchy structure
story
personality
corporate social responsibility

When working with our private clients or indeed delivering our open branding masterclasses and workshops we use the Personality Profile Performer™ System to develop all these key brand foundational elements for our clients’ or workshop participant’s brands. The outputs from the Personality Profile Performer™ then provide you with your brand blueprint or brand roadmap, together with the brand direction for your brand design application in brand collateral, brand communications strategy, training and so forth.

Notice that purpose is one of the key building blocks for a strong brand foundation. This part of the brand foundation provides the critical direction for brand strategy, and consequently, for high performance with the laser-focused results marketers seek. Here we aim to show you how a well-defined brand purpose is inextricably tied to stronger brand performance.

Defining Brand Purpose

Since some employees and employers may say that the purpose of a business it to make a profit, it’s understandable that thought leaders must reiterate the actual meaning of brand purpose.

So, what is brand purpose and what is it not? Drucker and other experts observed that brand purpose is to create customers through superior products and services which have value and usefulness. In other words, customers do not shop and pay so that a company can become richer. They buy because they perceive value in their purchases.

It’s important to note that 60% of branding is about perceived value and only 40% about the actual product or service, so how you communicate your brand’s mission, vision and purpose actually has a significant impact on your bottom line.

To quote Simon Sinek “People don’t buy what you do, they buy ‘why’ you do it, and what you do simply proves what you believe.”

Branding expert David Aaker writes about value that inspires purchase from both sides of the buy/sell relationship. “It is easy to get caught in a focus on financials, but employees and customers are increasingly attracted to brands and firms that have a higher purpose.”[2]

This is why, for example, at their very foundation of purpose, Volvo family cars are built around a steel cage design to achieve maximum safety, Mercedes-Benz defines meticulous German engineering and innovation in luxury cars, and Tesla produces electric cars to decrease our dependency on gasoline. Purpose is also why one of the most successful brands on earth doesn’t just sell computers, but dreams up groundbreaking products such as the Apple Watch, iPads and iPods to create “insanely great products” that enhance peoples’ lives and that many people consequently want…a lot.

How Clear Brand Purpose Improves Performance

Brand educator Mark Di Somma counsels that marketers should view the relationship between purpose and product as a symbiotic one, not as an either/or one.[3] “For purpose to realize its full potential, the commercial leadership must align with, and be framed by, a clear and shared moral leadership.”[4]

When brands are able to connect and balance great storytelling founded on a clear vision, mission, values, and purpose, with the right product or service, then the magic happens. We look into three case studies from Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart Stores and Patagonia.

Case Study 1: How Coca-Cola Made History Selling Togetherness

Who remembers the tune, “I’d like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company”? It was 1971 when McCann-Erickson’s creative and music directors first produced those lyrics[5], placed a group of Coke bottle-holding, flowers-in-the-hair, multicultural lip-syncing teenagers on top of a hill outside Rome and portrayed a positive message of sharing, hope and love. The world said “Wow!”

One of the most successful adverts of all time, now enshrined in the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution[6], married the idea of happiness and universal love with the product. In a ground-breaking collaboration between advertising and the record industry, it was re-envisioned as a hit song rising to UK #1, as a Christmas advert and as a Disney collaboration for years to come.

Case Study 2: How Wal-Mart is Re-Thinking Purpose

In America, Walmart has been reportedly criticized, rightly or wrongly for years, one issue after another. Non-union jobs at low wages that depress the job market, running small businesses out of town, accusations of racial and gender employee discrimination, foreign product sourcing, and environmental policies are a few of the themes that have splashed across the pages of various news publications and media.

America’s largest retailer is also America’s largest employer. Wal-Mart Stores has also created America’s richest family with a fortune placed at US $149 billion.[7] Yes, they have low prices in 5,000 stores. But, it’s fair to ask: What’s their brand purpose? What do they stand for?

Image via Wikipedia CC 4.0, Credit: Miosotis Jade

In keeping with the growing trend in other parts of the world, American consumers’ sense of values have become more focused on where products come from, how they are made, whether a company is doing the right thing for the environment, for sustainability, for its workers and for corporate citizenship, says Allen Adamson, North American chairman at Landor Associates in AdWeek.[8]

Since mid-2015, AdWeek reports Walmart is starting to turn things around by embracing brand purpose. Examples include partnering with actor and gender-equality activist Geena Davis for a hometown theater festival in Arkansas, speaking out against anti-gay legislation, raising hourly salaries above federal minimum wage, and adopting “five freedoms of animal welfare” for its supplier chain.

Case Study 3: How Patagonia Used Reverse Psychology with its Purpose

“Don’t Buy This Jacket,” screeched the boldface type in caps to accompany the image of a parka. To launch their Common Threads Initiative[9], (reduce, repair, reuse, recycle, reimagine) the outdoor clothing maker grabbed attention in the New York Times on 2011’s Black Friday, a frenzied shopping day.

“This season, share some values,” the advertisement beseeched readers, focusing attention on consumerism versus conservation — hence, Patagonia’s mission: “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”

As AdWeek explains[10] about Patagonia’s startling spin on things, “The point is, Patagonia, whose business relies literally on the outdoors, is in it for the long term.” Actively protecting the environment is central to Patagonia’s core purpose or raison d’être.

Image via www.adweek.com and © www.patagonia.com

What happened to sales? According to Bloomberg Business,[11] two years into the buy less campaign, outdoorsy customers pumped an extra US $158 million, nearly a 40 percent lift, into the company, which opened 14 additional store locations. Environmentalists may take note that Patagonia has launched “Twenty Million & Change,”[12] a venture capital fund to invest in startups that share environmentally responsible corporate values.[13]

More Case Studies on Brand Purpose

For readers who may wish to research further examples of clear brand purpose driving improved business performance, we can suggest the following:

• Charles Schwab, the investment broker, highlights how they can help small investors who don’t really want, or need, to understand the stock market in depth to beat inflation. “Talk to Chuck.” was the groundbreaking campaign launched in 2005, years ahead of social media interactive conversations. Their personality-driven approach successfully carved out a unique positioning for the brokerage, squarely between the discount broker firms and the full-service Wall Street firms for larger investors.

• Rubicoin, founded by Dublin-born Emmet Savage who is listed in Irish America’s Wall Street 50 (the list recognises the achievements of the most innovative Irish-American and Irish-born leaders in finance) is noted as one of the most successful investors in the world and this brand’s primary purpose is to get the world investing successfully, to remove the perceived barriers to accessing the stock market by giving everyone the basic ingredients required to successfully invest so they are empowered to change their lives financially.

• Nike places their mission statement up front and center: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.” Note the asterisk on the word “athlete.” Former university track and field coach and Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman said, “If you have a body, you are an athlete.” Any questions?

Image via © www.about.nike.com

• The Walt Disney Company, of course, was the brainchild of a master visionary. Now parent to four major companies, Walt explained the theme park concept best when explaining how he was bored watching his daughters in a playground. “I felt that there should be something built…something where the parents and the children could have fun together.” Walt would have approved of the company’s purpose as addressed by its former mission statement, “To make people happy.”[14]

Do you think they miss the mark with the current one? “Now Disney’s mission is “To be one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world.”[15]

That’s certainly a mouthful for Mickey Mouse or a dreamy-eyed child…or just about anyone outside the boardroom.

Questions About Brand Purpose to Consider:

• Does your brand have a clearly defined purpose? Have you engaged in the brand profiling process using a system like the Personality Profile Performer™?

• Is your brand’s purpose written in plain and simple language which everyone, both employes and customers alike, can clearly articulate on, or is it written in corporate lingo?

• How often do you re-visit, re-evaluate and brand health check your expression of your brand purpose?

• In what way is your brand’s purpose actively lived, expressed and shared with everyone in your business and interpreted by your employees?

• How would your employees respond to the question of what excites them and gets them out of bed in the morning?

• How and where is your brand’s purpose expressed to existing or potential customers?

If you’re struggling to answer these questions maybe its time your gave your brand a brand audit health check or brand refresh. Feel free to get in touch, we’d love to help!

‘What Customers Want: Top 16 Branding Trends in 2016’

‘Brand Profiling: How to Use Emotion to Make Your Brand More Profitable’

‘Rebranding Strategy: Why Your Rebrand Must Embrace Storytelling’

‘Brand Audits: 10 Things Successful Brand Owners and Managers Must Know’

The Profit Power of Cult Brands, Why and How to Create One

‘Brand Revitalisation and Relaunch: The do’s and don’ts of doing it successfully!’

Brand CSR: The Business Case for Successful Branding and Social Good

‘Co-Branding: 13 Tips for Growing Your Brand Through Strategic Partnerships’

[1] https://hbr.org/2009/11/why-read-peter-drucker

[2] https://www.prophet.com/blog/aakeronbrands/216-what-is-your-higher-purpose

[3] http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2016/01/brand-debate-focus-on-product-or-purpose.html#.VqwmcmRViko

[4] http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2014/08/defining-your-brand-purpose.html#.VqxKb2RVikp

[5] http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/coke-lore-hilltop-story

[6] http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/american-history-museum-scholar-coke-advertisement-180955318/?preview&no-ist

[7] http://www.forbes.com/profile/walton-1

[8] http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/walmart-trying-brand-itself-socially-conscious-165034

[9] http://www.patagonia.com/us/worn-wear

[10] http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-patagonia-136745

[11] http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2013-08-28/patagonias-buy-less-plea-spurs-more-buying

[12] http://www.patagoniaworks.com/#index

[13] http://www.fastcoexist.com/1682011/patagonia-launches-a-venture-fund-for-environmentally-responsible-startups

[14] http://www.fastcompany.com/1821021/defining-your-companys-vision

[15] https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about/

Brand CSR: The Business Case for Successful Branding and Social Good

February 1, 2016/0 Comments/in Brand Champions, Brand Collateral, Brand Differentiation, Brand Experience, Brand Leadership, Brand Loyalty, Brand Profiling & Positioning, Brand Promise, Brand Relevance, Brand Reputation, Brand Strategy, Brand Values, Branding, Business, Cause Marketing, Corporate Social Responsibility, Millennial Branding /by Lorraine Carter

According to a Nielsen poll of consumers in 60 countries, 55 percent of purchasers are willing to pay more for products and services from companies that do their part to encourage positive social and environmental impacts.[1]

Clearly, corporate social responsibility influences buying preferences, but how else is it important? We’ll examine the answer to that question below.

Image via www.huffpost.com

What is Corporate Social Responsibility?

Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, occurs when companies take into account the sociological, financial and environmental impacts its actions have in the world and decides to ensure its actions make a positive impact. [2].

Some business experts have simplified the definition of CSR even further to suggest it encompasses everything a company actively does to have a positive impact on society.

There are numerous types of CSR, such as:

Philanthropy
Production Improvements
Better Conditions for Workers
Sustainability
Community Enrichment
Diversity in Hiring Practices
Supporting Companies with Similar Values

Typically, the manner in which a company engages in CSR is closely aligned with its brand strategy, brand values, positioning, primary audience and industry sector. For example, a clothing manufacturer might iron out a CSR plan that improves working conditions in factories located in developing countries, while an establishment that makes paper products might commit to CSR that ensures the world’s most at-risk forests are protected and regenerated.

Why is CSR Good for Business?

Although many corporate leaders are encouraged by the aforementioned statistic that shows a company’s involvement in CSR may mean a customer is willing to pay more for its services, they usually require stronger beneficial commercial evidence before taking further action.

However, they don’t need to look very far before uncovering some of the numerous other benefits linked to CSR, including: [3]

Happier Staff: Employees take pride in working for a company that supports the greater good through worthy actions and happier staff are more productive and better brand ambassadors

More Informed Customers: If your company announces a CSR strategy, the associated plans could potentially result in a more transparent organization which in turn typically results in more loyal customers.

Research shows customers want to know more about the things they buy, product or service, than ever before. For example, a study published by IBM noted 59 percent of American consumers and 57 percent of consumers from the United Kingdom have become more informed about the foods they buy and eat over the two years prior to the study’s publication.[4]

In other words, customers’ predisposition to buy, product or service, is becoming increasingly influenced by an organization’s authenticity, openness and commitment to the greater good.

Reduced Costs: CSR can cut costs by helping companies become aware of and minimize risks, plus improve the efficiency of their supply chains.

Improved Competitiveness: In a challenging marketplace, a worthwhile CSR plan could carve out a more solid place with a unique positioning for a company to thrive.

Better Public Relations and Reputation Management: A CSR plan gives a company a platform through which to promote good things like community involvement, donations to charities and other big-hearted gestures.

Developing an Effective Corporate Responsibility Plan for Your Brand

In order to launch a CSR plan that’s good for business and engages genuinely with your stakeholders, it must be carefully crafted. The key is to strike a balance between benefiting society at large, and benefitting the business. [5] Doing that means:

Evaluating how and where the business can have the greatest societal impact without taxing the company’s leadership and resources. This frequently involves scrutinizing the company’s existing competencies. Those strengths can provide clues to possible CSR strategies that are revealed after tapping into existing skillsets.

Cultivating a deep understanding of how certain actions could help the business while simultaneously supporting the chosen causes. This often also necessitates having an open heart and mind while listening to feedback from stakeholders.

Aligning with partners can propel your desired efforts and help bring goals to fruition. Ideally, adopting a long-term mindset when forming collaborative CSR relationships is best for all concerned.

Ensure business objectives and CSR goals match up. If there is a disconnect between these two components, your CSR activities risk being time-consuming and lacking the power needed to make lasting changes.

Examples of Brand CSR Strategies That Have Worked Well, and Why

Now you have a deeper understanding of what corporate social responsibility is and how to start formulating your own plan, let’s look at the characteristics of some successful CSR programs with companies that are excelling in their CSR endeavors [6]. You can then use these actionable tips to drive your own brand CSR inspiration.

CSR experts agree all successful CSR programmes typically have:

clear objectives
measurable outcomes
well-developed theories for how to achieve the desired goals
sufficient information for stakeholders about why causes are worth pursuing
dedicated and highly focused efforts from the entire company
a willingness to partner with credible experts.

Let’s look at a few case studies that detail some stellar CSR successes.

APS Group

This UK-based SME spent years ironing out its CSR strategy. Lacking the resources to hire a dedicated CSR team, the company found employees who were willing to champion the company’s CSR causes, which include education and supplier sustainability.

Media clips from the company place a strong emphasis on making things possible for clients that they would not be able to achieve alone, as does the company’s published document about its CSR initiatives. Through CSR efforts, it can also be strongly argued the company is living out its “Make More Possible” slogan by enabling the people and organizations affected by the causes it supports. APS Group is a great example of how even if a company thinks creating a CSR plan is a daunting task, success is still within reach. [8]

Method

This brand of cleaning products uses natural ingredients such as coconut oil and soy. Furthermore, the products’ packaging is environmentally responsible and biodegradable. Since the company boasts over $100 million in revenue annually, that is proof “green” products can be commercially viable.

Image via © www.methodhome.com

Furthermore, Method demonstrates CSR focuses do not have to be separate from the products you make. Some media clips from the company that details its CSR focuses specifically highlight input from industry experts to make a bigger impact.

LUSH Cosmetics

This company sells bathing and beauty products filled with natural ‘Fair Trade’ ingredients. The brand’s Charity Pot is sold to benefit a rotating assortment of non-profit organizations. All proceeds from the Charity Pot go directly to the chosen groups, resulting in millions of dollars raised. [10]

The packaging is just one indicator of how easy it is for people to support good causes by purchasing these black, lotion-filled containers. LUSH uses the labels on the top of pots to inform consumers who the recipients are by clearly stating the designated charity concerned.

Image via © www.lush.co.uk

The brand also has a fund that supports communities which produce fairly traded goods. It was launched in 2010 and borne from a desire the company had to do something more than just use fair-trade ingredients in their products whenever possible. [11]

Charting the Results of Your CSR Strategy

It can sometimes appear somewhat difficult to determine with certainty whether your CSR strategies have achieved the desired outcomes. One of the more effective ways you can answer that question is by engaging an independent research firm, with specialist expertise, to rank certain aspects of a company’s CSR performance, from human rights to the environment and community. [12]

Additionally, you can check effectiveness through various metrics [13] such as:

Environmental indices for pollution or air/water/soil quality
Quality and quantity of mentions in media outlets
Measurements for the quality of life within a society, such as literacy rates, life expectancy and incidences of disease, plus mental, physical and emotional heath. The latter could be gauged through feedback surveys given to workers
Indicators of the company’s economic health by way of profits, growth, and stability, before and after a CSR campaign launches

In conclusion, customers are becoming increasingly hyper-conscious of how and where they spend their money. Recent research also indicates this trend is strongest among Millennials, the largest consumer segment in terms of buying power. [14] Specifically, 91 percent of Millennials actively switch to brands that support a worthy cause, and abandon the brands that aren’t perceived to have an authentic contribution policy.

In addition to boosting your customer base and potential profits, a well-developed CSR plan could strengthen your relationship with suppliers, increase competitiveness in the marketplace and help you cut costs by becoming more aware of risks. Therefore, many business leaders have come to realize it’s short sighted to not be involved in corporate social responsibility.

Key Takeaways

Customers are typically willing to pay more for products from companies associated with strong CSR brand strategies
CSR goals vary depending on a company’s values and the composition of their stakeholders
A good CSR plan should both benefit the business and help society
The CSR plan must align with a company’s business objectives
Expert individuals or notable groups can help improve CSR strategy success
Metrics and independent research groups can evaluate whether a CSR plan is working well

Have you integrated a CSR strategy into your organization? If not, it might be a good idea to take a look at how CSR could benefit all concerned.

Questions to Consider

Does your company have well-defined core competencies that could translate into areas of CSR focus?

How motivated are your stakeholders to pursue a CSR plan?

Are there obstacles that might delay CSR-related brand strategy plans?

Have you thought about how to tackle negative responses from stakeholders that CSR is not currently worthwhile?

Which measurement methods will you consider using to verify your CSR brand strategy effectiveness?

• What Customers Want: Top 16 Branding Trends in 2016

• Rebranding Strategy: Why Your Rebrand Must Embrace Storytelling

• Brand Profiling: Top 6 Components to Creating a Strong Brand Personality

• Creating New Brands: Top 10 Tips for Brand Success

• Brand Personality: Is Your Brand’s Character Big Enough to Compete?

• Millennial Branding: 6 Ways Your Brand Can Appeal to Millennial Customers

• Co-Branding: 13 Tips for Growing Your Brand Through Strategic Partnerships

• Video Brand Strategy: Top 11 Tips for How and Why You Need to Use Video

[1] http://www.nielsen.com, “Global Consumers Are Willing to Put Their Money Where Their Heart Is When it Comes to Goods and Services from Companies Committed to Social Responsibility”, June 2014

[2] http://toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au, “What is Corporate Social Responsibility?”

[3] http://www.csrinpractice.com, “What is Corporate Social Responsibility?”

[4] George Pohle and Jeff Hittner, https://www-935.ibm.com, “Attaining Sustainable Growth Through Corporate Responsibility.”, 2008

[5] Tracey Keys, Thomas W. Malnight, and Kees van der Graaf, http://www.mckinsey.com, “Making the Most of Corporate Social Responsibility” June 2009

[6] Frederick E. Allen, http://www.forbes.com, “The Five Elements of the Best CSR Programs.” April 2011.

[7] http://www.theapsgroup.com/who-we-are/corporate-social-responsibility/

[8] Lisa Henshaw, http://www.theguardian.com, “How SMEs Can Engage in Social Responsibility Programmes,” December 2011.

[9] http://www.inc.com, “How Two Friends Built a $100 Million Company”

[10] Helaina Hovitz, http://www.forbes.com, “Following the Millions in LUSH’s ‘Charity Pot’. December 2014

[11] https://www.lush.co.uk/. “Introducing the SLush Fund”

[12] Tima Bansal, Natalie Slawinski, Cara Maurer, Natalie Slawinski, Cara Maurer. http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com, “Beyond Good Intentions: Strategies for Managing Your CSR Performance” January/February 2008.

[13] Katherine N. Lemon, John H. Roberts, Priya Raghubir and Russell S. Winter, http://www.philoma.org. “A Stakeholder-Based Approach: Measuring the Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility”, 2011.

[14] www.conecomm.com, “New Cone Communications Research Confirms Millennials as America’s Most Ardent CSR Supporters,” September 2015.

What’s a Cult Lifestyle Brand, and How do You Create One?

January 25, 2016/0 Comments/in Brand Culture, Brand Differentiation, Brand Experience, Brand Leadership, Brand Loyalty, Brand Personality, Brand Premiumisation, Brand Profiling & Positioning, Brand Reputation, Brand Story, Brand Strategy, Brand Values, Brand Voice, Branding, Branding Trends, Cult Branding, Customer Service, Premiumization /by Lorraine Carter

When the Apple Corporation gave its annual report in 2015, it had a whopping $178 billion in cash, or enough to buy the Ford, Tesla, and General Motors car companies and have more than $41 billion left over. [1] Such is the power and worth of a so-called cult lifestyle brand. Here, we’ll look at what makes up a cult brand, and the characteristics that set the stage for your brand to obtain that coveted status.

What is a Cult Brand, and Why is it Smart to Build One?

A cult brand has worked so hard to build a following, it’s in a class of its own. Loyal customers feel there is no substitute for the benefits ‘their’ cult brand offers, and they’re often willing to go to great lengths to get access to those much sought after respective products or service. Cult brands anticipate the tangible and spiritual needs of their customers and work to fill them on multiple levels. [2]

They’re usually associated with social benefits, too [3]. For example, Fender guitars are arguably not the most technically advanced instruments, but they nevertheless enjoy a cult following. Once people buy a guitar, they feel they’ve become part of a social club of other content like-minded customers, including some superstar players.

Once you’ve built a strong cult brand it will continue to inspire brand loyalty provided you both carefully nurture it and your loyal customers. That loyalty is likely to persist even if you charge a premium or intentionally produce products or services in limited quantities with restricted access.

Furthermore, in the event an untimely problem arises that momentarily blemishes the brand, its cult status will often be enough to carry it through those temporary low points. Brands with cult-like status tend to engender staunch customers willing to buy the brand again despite mishaps.

Characteristics of a Cult Lifestyle Brand

Let’s take a deeper look and examine key characteristics that help some brands stand head-and-shoulders above the rest, seemingly immune to the many struggles causing competitors to flounder:

Cult Brands Have Recognizable Strong Personality Traits: Although brands don’t necessarily have all the attributes humans do, the best share many qualities with humans. They are like humanized entities. You may resonate with one of your most beloved brands because it appears to exhibit sympathy, honesty, integrity and motivation, among other emotionally engaging human-like traits, qualities and values that are potentially important to you.

Cult Brands Are Relatable: When a cult brand is relatable, it’s able to resonate with its target audience by encapsulating familiarities within everyday lives. A brand may be positioned so it’s optimally relatable via its packaging, customer service, employees, customer journey, brand collateral and even purchase receipts.

Cult Brands Encompass Broad Ideals: Some brands reach cult status because they successfully convey an ideal or lifestyle its purchasers aspire to and want to be part of. Maybe the brand’s associated with warm hospitality, opulent luxury, a rugged, adventuresome lifestyle or a hunger for high-tech items that regularly challenge what we think is possible. [4] By regularly purchasing items or services that represent what they aspire to having, buyers inch ever closer to their ultimate goals. Its what the beloved cult brand ‘stands for’ that its target audience identify, with and relate to as part of their own personal identity.

Cult Brands Have Their Own Catchy Brand Language and Buzzwords: At Walt Disney World, people who work there aren’t called employees, but “cast members.” Furthermore, the crew that designs rides is staffed by “imagineers.”

Also, don’t walk into an Apple Store and expect to get your MP3 player checked at the technical support desk. Instead, stroll back to the Genius Bar where a specialist bearing the title of “genius” will examine your iPhone.

The distinctive language used by cult brands is not just an accidental cutesy extra. It’s quite deliberate and strategically developed as part of building the brand’s profile using a system like the Personality Profile Performer™. When people learn the lingo or brand language, they’ve become members of an exclusive club, the in-crowd, and are thereby more closely connected to one another and those they perceive to matter most in their world. [5]

4 Top Tips for Creating a Cult Brand

Now that you’re more familiar with some aspects of brands that have reached cult status, let’s explore actionable tips that could help your own brand achieve that apparently insurmountable feat. [6]

1. Tell a Strong Brand Story

The human brain responds instinctively to stories. We’ve shared stories since we lived in caves and learnt them as children on our parents’ knees. It’s how we make sense of the world. Your brand should develop and tell an engaging, memorable tale. When we’re working with our clients to create and develop memorable brand stories we use our Story Selling System™. Consider that most cult brands are able to successfully communicate which problems their products solve. Ideally, your story should not only be authentic and emotionally compelling, but prove how your product fills a demonstrated need.

2. Excel at Doing or Giving Something People Greatly Value

Cult brands are often excellent at providing a service or benefit to a far superior degree when compared to their competitors, and brands in other unrelated sectors for that matter. This is one of the reasons why it’s so crucial to understand what other brands in your industry are doing, and evaluate how you can reach beyond that point in a meaningful and feasible way. A brand audit is a very effective tool for uncovering this often hidden information. Your brand needs to be creating a customer experience in at least one very unique way that’s vastly superior to your nearest contenders.

3. Truly Value Your Customers

Regardless of how great whatever you’re offering is, your brand is highly unlikely to reach cult status if you consistently give customers the cold shoulder. Earlier, we talked about how people who follow cult brands may be more forgiving and willing to offer second chances. However, that’ll only happen if you have stellar customer service practices that make your customers feel like they’re genuinely worth your time and much appreciated for their business.

Besides just offering great service, try to include customers in your creative or product or service development process, even if its just to get feedback from them. People love feeling like they’re part of something important and that their opinion matters. If you make it clear their thoughts matter, they’re more likely to be loyal for life.

4. Give the Impression of Scarcity

Although this tip can backfire in some markets, profits and consumer interest levels can grow when customers feel the product you’re offering is not easy to acquire. When buyers believe an item is in limited supply, they’re often more likely to try harder to get it.

Now, let’s look at a few case studies of companies that have used various brand strategies to build their cult brands and make them thrive very profitably.

Case Study: SoulCycle

SoulCycle is a brand of indoor cycling classes that’s beloved by celebrities, and some might say, a little overpriced. Class prices begin at $32 for 45 minutes of sweaty cycling. Yet, SoulCycle’s devotees don’t mind.

Image via www.soul-cycle.com

Many of them cycle while wearing diamonds and Rolex watches. Being around people who are outfitted in the same way likely engenders feelings of even greater exclusivity.

Furthermore, certain superstar trainers have very small exclusive class sizes, leading fitness fans to scramble in hopes of landing an open slot, or getting lucky when someone doesn’t show up. Chelsea Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and Lady Gaga are just a few VIPs singing SoulCycle’s praises, with Lady Gaga even bringing custom-made SoulCycle bikes on a tour. [7]

Image via www.popsugar.com

Case Study: J. Crew

Founded in 1983, J. Crew is an American clothing brand that has impressively been able to enjoy a long-term cult status, while other hopeful brands have faltered. Some analysts say the success is largely due to the brand’s fearless and forward-thinking president and creative director, Jenna Lyons. [8]

Image via www.letsrestycle.com and www.sohautestyle.com

She took the helm in 2008 and began running with the bold strategy that the brand should no longer be dictated by corporate strategies. Instead, J. Crew would not associate with a product unless its team members truly embraced it.

Furthermore, Lyons unified the company’s creative processes and gave employees more freedom to take risks. Ideas that don’t work well are quickly disposed of, leaving some to feel J. Crew is constantly in flux. However, rising profits and raving fans indicate the changes have resonated. Some of the brand’s YouTube videos have more than a million views.

Case Study: Vij’s and Rangoli

These two Canadian restaurants are run by a husband and wife team and have become some of the hottest eating establishments in Vancouver. A “No Reservation Rule” means people sometimes have to act fast to enjoy this beloved cuisine.

Image via www.macleans.ca

Besides the tasty fare they offer, perhaps one of the reasons why the restaurants have such loyal followings is because their very creations represent an entrepreneurial dream many fantasize about.

The restaurants were funded by a small loan from a family member, plus personal savings. One member of the team is Vikram Vij, who’s originally from India. He was able to use talent, determination and dedication to help the restaurants prosper.[9] Vij and his wife Meeru have even written two acclaimed books.

Image via www.vijs.ca

Clearly, there’s not a single path that leads an emerging brand to cult brand status. However, a combination of key factors, such as cultivating desirable brand characteristics, a skilled team with a visionary leader, unwavering focus with a clear strategic brand vision and an exclusivity or scarcity strategy can result in impressive outcomes.

Key Takeaways

Cult brands must meet a need or solve a problem in at least one way that’s significantly superior to competitors

Brands with unique languages and singular brand tone-of-voices may inspire exclusivity and a sense of belonging within followers

Cult brands are inspiring, yet relatable

People are often more forgiving of cult brands

Brands with cult status typically command premium price positioning for their offerings, product or service

Cult brands often encompass desirable lifestyles

Questions to Consider

Can you identify one or more desirable personality traits your brand possesses that may help it reach cult status?

What positive associations or lifestyles relate to your brand?

Can you think of a situation where it may be detrimental or inappropriate to use a scarcity strategy?

Which problems does your brand solve for consumers?

In what ways do you think your brand makes others feel inspired?

Could you combine a cult brand strategy with a rebranding initiative to increase your business success?

• What Customers Want: Top 16 Branding Trends in 2016

• Rebranding Strategy: Why Your Rebrand Must Embrace Storytelling

• Top 10 Packaging Trends for 2016

• Limited Edition Packaging: How to Use it as Part of Your Brand Strategy

• Brand Profiling: Top 6 Components to Creating a Strong Brand Personality

• Brand Audits: Why You Need Them and How to Perform One

• Creating New Brands: Top 10 Tips for Brand Success

• Colour Psychology: Cracking the Colour Code for Profitable Branding

• Brand Personality: Is Your Brand’s Character Big Enough to Compete?

• Luxury Branding: How to Establish or Re-Position Your High-End Brand

[1] Sam Colt, uk.businessnsider.com, “15 Mind-Blowing Facts About Apple’s Latest Quarter,” January 2015.

[2] http://www.cultbranding.com, “Cult Brand Defined.”

[3] Antonio Marazza, http://www.forbes.com, “A Survival Guide for Symbolic and Lifestyle Brands,” October 2013.

[4] Jessica Farris, http://www.printmag.com, “Branding Lifestyles: What Does Your Brand Represent?” September 2014.

[5] Frank Cowell, “http://www.elevatoragency.com, “Why Your Brand Needs Its Own Language”

[6] Dave Llorens, http://www.huffingtonpost.com, “8 Cult Lessons That Will Help You Build Your Brand,” December 2013.

[7] Vanessa Grigoriadis, http://www.vanityfair.com, “Riding High,” August 2012.

[8] Danielle Sacks, http://www.fastcompany.com, “How Jenna Lyons Transformed J.Crew Into a Cult Brand,” April 2013.

[9] smallbusinessbc.ca, “Meet Vikram Vij, CBC Dragon, Vij’s Restaurant, My Shanti, Rangoli and Vij’s At Home”

Rebranding Strategy: Gems of Wisdom from 5 Successful Brand Revitalizations

January 5, 2016/0 Comments/in Brand Audit, Brand Auditing, Brand Audits, Brand Champions, Brand Collateral, Brand Design, Brand Differentiation, Brand Health Check, Brand Identity Design, Brand Personality, Brand Profiling & Positioning, Brand Relaunch, Brand Relevance, Brand Reputation, Brand Research, Brand Revitalisation, Brand Strategy, Brand Values, Branding, Business, Customer Engagement, Graphic Design, Market Demographics, Market Insights, Market Research, Millennial Branding, Rebrand, Rebranding, Return On Investment, Revamped Design, Revitalized Design, Target Market /by Lorraine Carter

Rebranding is a relatively broad term, as it encompasses both large and small-scale changes to an existing brand, which aim to resurrect a failing brand, reposition the brand and allow the company to reach out to a new target market, or simply help the brand keep up with the times.

While some brands adopt a “back to the drawing board” strategy and change everything from their logo and name to their brand values and product packaging design, a good brand revitalization strategy can sometimes be limited to a few low-key changes that enable the brand to stay relevant or differentiate itself from the competition.

When Should a Company Invest in a Rebrand?

An impressive 61% of consumers stated that an exceptional customer experience was a major determining factor when choosing a brand, and 48% of consumers expect brands to understand their needs and assist them in finding the right product and services based on those needs.[1]

Infographic via Cube.com [Digital Trends Target the Always-On Consumer]

Brands that have trouble understanding or catering to the customers’ needs are prime candidates for a brand relaunch, but a company can also have trouble with brand incongruence, a tarnished reputation or pressure from the competition.

However, the reasons for a rebrand can also be of a positive nature – a brand may experience rapid growth, as well as significant changes in the production process or the expansion of their product portfolio due technological innovations. Repositioning an economy brand as a high-end brand is another good reason for rebranding.

Since a successful rebrand involves performing a brand audit, market research, developing a detailed brand implementation strategy and effectively communicating the rebrand to customers and media, it is not recommended for young brands. You must have a well-established brand identity and a good level of brand awareness before you can embark on a brand revitalization journey.

Lessons Learned from 5 Successful Rebranding Strategies

1. Harley-Davidson – Improve the Actual Product

The Harley-Davidson motorcycle company initially had many advantages over their competition. For one, the brand had a purebred American provenance, a long history – their motorcycles were used by the US army in both World Wars – and were associated with an image of a powerful, fearless and rebellious man and an adventurous lifestyle that was alluring to a fairly large percentage of men in their mid-twenties and mid-thirties.

The brand had a good story tell, but the company still had numerous problems over the years, and faced bankruptcy on more than one occasion. The main issues that the company faced were:

Their products were objectively less reliable than what their competition had to offer
They faced very aggressive competition from a number of quality Japanese brands
The brand had become associated with biker gangs, notably the Hells Angels
They were seen as old-fashioned and outdated

In other words, Harley-Davidson had to address their reputation issues or face extinction. However, this was not something that could be fixed by merely changing the logo – their products didn’t meet the quality standards that the customers were accustomed to and they didn’t appeal to the younger generation. The brand actually adopted an incredibly smart strategy – spend less money on marketing and focus on making the product better.

Image via www.harley-davidson.com

Once they worked out all the little problems that had plagued their motorcycles, the company experienced impressive growth – Harley-Davidson, a brand that was on the verge of bankruptcy twice before, is now worth around $1 billion.

The company still faces a big problem, their average customer is a white American male pushing fifty, but they have shown that they are ready to reach out to a more ethnically diverse and younger target audience. The brand plans to shift its focus towards marketing in 2016. [2]

2. Massey Bros. – Leverage Your Premium Service, Tell Your Brand Story and Ensure Your Brand Identity Creates Distinction

Massey Bros. Funeral Directors is a successful family owned and managed business established in Dublin in the 1930s. They operate in a sector which is traditionally very conservative yet they’re industry leaders in terms of developing innovative solutions. They also have the added complication of having more than six competitors also operating legitimately under the ‘Massey’ name. In addition to this, they themselves also operated under two names before their rebrand!

Massey Bros. have always offered a very premium service but this five star, tailor made, message, their industry leadership coupled with their multiple first to market new innovative services solutions just wasn’t been properly represented in their brand profile, tone-of-voice or brand communications strategy. They also lacked a strong brand identity or consistency across their brand collateral.

We conducted research and a brand audit health check, re-evaluated their whole brand proposition and purpose, their positioning, signage, uniforms, brand collateral and brand strategy. The outputs and findings from this initial body of work then provided the direction for a complete brand overhaul resulting in absolute clarity over their brand proposition, a much stronger brand identity, a higher profile with distinction in the marketplace, consistency across all the brand collateral and most importantly strong staff brand custodians throughout the business that continue to pro-actively manage their brand in the marketplace. And of course, increased market share. You can read the full details of this rebranding case study here.

3. Target – Know Your Audience and Keep Things Simple

Target was initially envisioned as a brand that catered to a somewhat more sophisticated shopper, a person looking for a more sophisticated shopping experience than one would normally find in extremely low-priced stores like Walmart, but who also wanted that stay within a reasonable budget. The problem was that, over the years, the “deal-hunting” aspect became more prominent, which essentially lead to Target being equated with the very same economy shopping experience that they originally strived to distance themselves from.

This caused brand incongruence, with fashionable clothes on one end and cheap food items on the other, and they simply could not compete with well-established economy brands that ruled this segment of the market.

Target performed a brand audit health check, and found that they were neglecting a very important demographic. In the words of Brian Cornell, Target chief executive: “Our guest is going to be increasingly a Hispanic shopper.” [3] The brand, realizing that over 50% of Hispanic Millennials identified Target as their preferred shopping destination, even created several Spanish-language adverts, with a unique hashtag – #SinTraducción (without translation).

Another big step towards engaging their primary audience was the decision to unite their smaller “mini urban stores” under the Target brand logo. The company previously distinguished these smaller outlets as TargetExpress and CityTarget.

Image via Target.com [Target express store]

The logo design for the mini urban stores proved confusing, the words “express” and “city” were simply placed next to the classic bull’s-eye Target logo, and will only feature the Target logo going forward. With these changes, the brand has revitalized its image. However they still apparently have a bit further to go according to USA Today as things like the infamous 2013 security breach, and their latest OCD sweater has reportedly put their customers’ loyalty somewhat to the test.

4. Hybrid Technology Partners – Don’t Pigeonhole Yourself with a Poorly Thought Out Brand Identity

Formerly known as HybridIT, this Limerick-based company offer a wide range of services, including IT, software development and customer support. They even offer a product – a unique business management ERP (enterprise resource planning) system. However, anyone who saw the “IT” in their brand name immediately thought of them as just another IT company. [4]

This prevented the company from accessing a larger market share, and the fact that their logo didn’t communicate their core brand message effectively threatened to keep HybridIT in the shadows. Luckily, this “more than just an IT” company caught on and decided to revitalize their brand.

When working on creating appropriate brand identities for our clients, we focus on ensuring all the brand foundations have been fully developed using our Personality Profile Performer™ system before we even look at the aesthetics or design. The outputs from this system provide the roadmap for ensuring the brand identity outputs together with brand messaging and tone of voice are market and target audience appropriate, unique and in keeping a brand’s core values.

At first glance the change was subtle, they became HybridTP, but that one little letter was a monumental step in the right direction. The new brand identity, Hybrid Technology Partners made two things very clear:

The brand offers diverse technological solutions for streamlining a business
The company views its clients as partners, and works with them to find the best solutions

The new brand identity, coupled with some light modifications to their website, allowed HybridTP to convey their brand values – honesty, cooperation and trust – and connect with a much larger audience more effectively.

5. Narragansett Beer – Learn How to Appeal to Millennial Consumers

Pabst Blue Light used to be the beer of choice for blue-collar workers and hipster Millennials, but in recent years an old New England beer has stolen their title as the number one “cheap and cool” US beer.

The Narragansett brand has a long history, it was established 125 years ago, but the company recently made a very wise business decision and revitalised the brand, targeting Millennials. They didn’t stray away from their roots, their New England provenance, and long history being the key elements that distinguished the brand from the competition, but they did make some notable changes to the product packaging and re-evaluated their branding strategy.

The old slogan, “Made on Honor, Sold on Merit”, remained unchanged, but with fun and colourful commercials, local girls photographed in the traditional pinup style for their calendar and increased social media activity, Narragansett has successfully made a transition into the digital age.

Image via www.narragansettbeer.com

We know from personal experience that the Millennial demographic can be a powerful driving force that launches a struggling brand to new levels of success. Understanding both what makes their brand unique and what appeals to a Millennial audience, has allowed this low-priced craft beer to secure its position on the market. Saying that the rebrand was a success would be an understatement – the brand brought in $12 million in revenue last year, 120 times more than in 2005.[5]

These five successful rebrand stories all carry an important lesson for any struggling brand. A brand audit can help you reveal your weaknesses be it a problem with the quality of the product itself like in Harley Davidson’s case, an issue of brand incongruence, a dissonance between the brand logo and core brand values and the services offered by the company or a lack of awareness of your primary audience’s needs and preferences.

A brand relaunch is not something to be taken lightly or done for the pure sake of change, but if a brand has fallen on tough times, lacks relevance or isn’t leveraging its full potential with its target market, implementing a carefully planned brand revitalisation strategy is a big move in the right direction.

• Rebranding Strategy: Why Your Rebrand Must Embrace Storytelling

• Rebranding Strategy: Using Premium Repositioning To Increase Profitability

• Brand Personality: Is Your Brand’s Character Big Enough to Compete?

• Rebranding: How to Make It Through a Rebrand and Emerge Stronger

• Brand Audit: Tips for Determining Your Brand’s Health – Can It Be Improved?

• Brand Naming: Top Ten Methods for Brand Name Creation

• Humanizing Your Brand: Why It is Key to Commercial Success

• Brand Profiling: Top 6 Components to Creating a Strong Brand Personality

• Creating New Brands: Top 10 Tips for Brand Success

• Brand Profiling: How to Use Emotion to Make Your Brand More Profitable

So, what do you think?

• Does your brand have trouble staying relevant?

• Did you perform a brand health check to determine if there are any weak points you could improve upon?

• Are you targeting the right audience, and do you really understand the needs of your primary audience in terms of their needs, wants, loves, hates and aspirations?

• Are your products and services up to standards, or are you having problems keeping up with the competition?

• Is your brand identity consistent with your core values, and the type of products and services you offer, or is it unnecessarily pigeonholing you into a single niche?

[1] Steve, Cubemc.com, Digital Trends: Understanding and Targeting the ‘Always-On’ Consumer, April 2015

[2] Mark Ritson, Branding Strategy Insider, “Can The Harley Davidson Brand Age Gracefully?”, October 2015

[3] Sarah Halzack, WashingtonPost.com, “Target’s new strategy: We need more than just minivan moms”, March 2015

[4] IrishExaminer.com, Small Business Q&A: Paul Brown, September 2014

[5] Kristina Monllos, Adweek.com, “How Narragansett Beer Rebuilt Its Brand With a Meager $100,000 Media Budget, Deep roots and word of mouth”, June 2015

What Customers Want: Top 16 Branding Trends in 2016

December 7, 2015/0 Comments/in Brand Culture, Brand Experience, Brand Personality, Brand Story, Brand Strategy, Branding, Branding Trends, Business, Customer Engagement, Global Branding, Integrated Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Market Insights, Marketing, Millennial Branding, Mobile, Mobile Commerce, Online Marketing, Social Engagement, Technology, Video, YouTube /by Lorraine Carter

More than a half century ago, the customer-centric branding pioneer Walter Landor said, “Products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind.” [1] In 2016, the path to that consumer experience is a two-way street, and guess who’s in the driver’s seat? Brands with strong personality are the winners, because customers equate great experiences and emotive meaning with strong, distinctive brands.

While Mr. Landor had massively insightful branding vision, he couldn’t have foreseen the challenges brands face in 2016. The 21st century consumer shopping and purchasing experience has changed, and continues to change…fast. Demanding and sophisticated customers no longer simply reach for “new and improved” brands on display shelves.

Digital Developments in Branding

In 2016, any brand overlooking the following trends would do so at their own peril:

• Shift to mobile is the main message for every small, medium, or large-sized brand in 2016. According to Google, “Mobile has forever changed what we expect of brands.” [2]

• Understanding digital is key. For even the smallest brands, the monetization of social platforms means we’re in the “pay-to-play” era. So going forward, every big brand marketing department needs a deep understanding of digital and every small brand needs to maximize their resources.

• Interpreting data tells brand marketers what’s working and what’s not, ensuring that spending choices are made wisely.

Simply put, your customers are online and that’s where you need to be. Specifically, they’re on mobile and increasingly, they’re watching video content to make purchase decisions.

Yes, just when we thought ubiquitous online shopping had tolled a death knell for bricks-and-mortar stores, Amazon introduced its first-ever real physical bookstore in Seattle University Village. [3] What does this signify 20 years after Amazon went live with cut-rate books online that nearly destroyed bookstores? Amazon is connecting the dots between its troves of big data on customer preferences and the 2016 desire for a humanizing browsing and shopping experience. No one is yet pronouncing this first bookstore as a trend, but it’s worth keeping an eye on. (Remember, Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos purchased the Washington Post when everyone said print newspapers were dead.).

Image via www.amazon.com

Branding Studies Highlight Customers Expectations

“Speedy, seamless and sensory,” is the brand experience consumers want in 2016, according to the Landor Associates study released in November 2015.[4] Today’s challenge for brands, says Landor’s CEO, is to continuously evolve, to be utterly relevant, while all the while staying true to the brand’s essence.

The largest group of consumers on the planet are Millennials (born between 1980 and 1995), and they’re adults now. The youngest in this cohort will turn 21 in 2016. As Edelman reveals in their latest worldwide “8095 Survey” of Millennials’ purchasing preferences, brands must surprise and delight to gain loyalty, because average is not acceptable.[5]

Image via www.edelman.com

In PwC’s latest global survey, “Retailers and the Age of Disruption,” the overarching trend is that “…the premium in the future will be on creating unique, brand-defining experiences that keep customers coming back — whatever the channel.” [6]

Branding keywords for 2016 include: personalized, authentic, humanized, interactive, engaging, and mobile.

We take a closer look at some outstanding examples from brands that illustrate key 2016 on-trend pointers to successfully target today’s customers.

Brands Can Flaunt a Sense of Humour

Lowe’s Home Improvement highlights their products by inspiring successful DIY through amusing, real life storytelling videos. The series are short and sweet, showing projects that will make you feel like you can accomplish anything, from painting a room to building an outdoor deck. Anyone who has ever tried to fold a fitted sheet will empathize with this guy.

Brands Are Storytellers

“I don’t think the world is ever going to want to stop hearing stories,” is the sentiment expressed by Angela Ahrendts during her tenure as CEO of Burberry. She emphasized that anyone who is touching your brand wants to see, feel and hear its authentic story. Tell it visually, amplify it with music, create energy around it. Ahrendts obsession about doing all of the above is why she’s America’s highest-compensated female executive as Sr. VP of Apple.

Brands Should Support Good Causes

Aligning with charitable endeavours, championing social issues or running an environmentally sustainable business is good for a brand, its customers and the community at large. Choose wisely, care deeply and gain credibility in the process. Marks & Spencer produced their Oxfam donation partnership called Shwopping profiling celebrity ambassadors, Annie Lennox, Emma Thompson, Twiggy and other leading ladies.

Brands Gain Trust via Authenticity

RED Lookbook is an Estée Lauder advert for their fragrance, Modern Muse Le Rouge. It’s delivered as a feel-good video featuring a “real” person, UK social influencer Fleur DeForce, wearing lots of red and using the fragrance. “Top priorities to succeed have to be authenticity and passion,” the beauty video blogger with 1.3 million subscribers told Digiday. Followers are accustomed to seeing Fleur in intimate, authentic videos relaxing with her husband, friends, dogs and favorite products. The 27-year-old provides a disclaimer, “I only ever work with brands that I personally use and love, and only to promote products I genuinely like and believe in.”

Brands Become Approachable

The evolution of wine reveals a case in point about humanizing a brand. Today’s winemakers are portraying down-to-earth personalities. Even the glamorous bubbly Moët & Chandon, founded in 1743, is behaving in a way that’s anything but stuffy and old fashioned.

Image via www.moet.com

In California wine country, “7 Deadly Zins” from Michael David Winery just knows how to have a good time with their Zinfandel branding, paired with fresh air and a mountain hike.

Image via www.michaeldavidwinery.com

And, there’s a seriously excellent wine inside the bottle illustrated with dancing elephants on a cartoon-like circus label; this Syrah was rated #2 in the world for 2015 by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. [7]

Image Courtesy of Lodi Winegrape Commission

Brands Relate To Consumers’ Lifestyles

In just six months, Fitbit has scored 6 million YouTube views for its 30-second rom com, “Know Your Heart.” It’s completely relatable and inexpensive to make. “The campaign plays off the duality of knowing your heart emotionally and physically in a cheeky and relatable, story–driven way that resonates with our brand,” says Fitbit global marketing VP Tim Rosa. “We wanted it to be relatable and charming, while showing that getting fit and healthy is attainable if one sets his/her heart to it.”[8]

Top 16 Brand Trends Checklist for Engaging Customers in 2016

1. Consumers crave brand authenticity. They want personalized, engaging and humanized interaction with brands, even humour that brings a smile to the face.

2. Customers are embracing disruptors, from healthcare wearables to taxi services and non-hotel stays.

3. Consumers are making emotional decisions about brands that feature distinctive, compelling storytelling and a friendly tone of voice, not corporate-speak bravado.

4. Customers want responsibility and accountability from brands. They’re looking deeper into a company’s ethics, environmental position, supply chain, production processes, diversity hiring, mission statement and corporate giving.

5. Consumers are tuned in. They place more value on online reviews from strangers than on brand advertising.

6. Customers are listening to employees as brand champions whose opinions on the brand culture can speak volumes via social media and in person.

7. Consumers are searching and shopping online. They expect fast, seamless, quality brand experiences from super fast mobile websites to free, next day delivery.

8. Consumers are looking at FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) and packaging design that goes beyond a logo, photos or serving suggestions in favour of labels that may reveal personality, tell about a product’s backstory and offer interesting “did you know” facts up front.

9. Consumers continue to relate to brands that relate to their own lifestyle preferences.

10. Consumers are consulting with children living at home in making their purchase decisions, including vacations.

11. Customers require a sense of place when they travel, not cookie-cutter, look-alike hotel and restaurant chains.

12. Customers express themselves through the brands they associate with, including artisan, hand-crafted, small production items from bricks and mortar stores or limited edition and customized products from larger brands.

13. Customers want two-way communication and co-creation with brands that are connecting with their customers and responding to feedback.

14. Consumers are tired of annoying in-your-face advertising that screams a one-way message. Native advertising and re-targeted effective messages that deliver relevance are the way to get attention in 2016.

15. Consumers expect multi-channel agility from brands. They prefer original brand video content and how-to advice to be seamlessly accessible across their multiple devices.

16. Consumers are rejecting photo-shopped, zero-sized beauty definitions in favour of natural and real, wellness and gender-neutral positioning.

Image via www.edelman.com

In conclusion:

• It’s not your brand anymore. It belongs to your customers.

• Brand experiences matter more, not stuff. Bring shareable new ideas to the marketplace.

• Brands must be created and developed using strong well developed personas. Make it personal, emotive, relatable and real.

• Clever and amusing is the new approach. Humanize your brand.

• Brand loyalty must be earned. Sophistication and authenticity are the order of the day for a much more discerning customer.

Ask yourself:

• How many of these 16 trends can you tick off your brand must-do list as part of your brand strategy for the year ahead?

• Has your brand found the right tone of voice for 2016?

• Have you defined your brand’s personality and strategized about how it is being expressed?

• Does your brand require a refresh or a re-branding to resonate with today’s consumers?

• Have you identified your brand’s positioning and unique selling points and successfully incorporated them?

• Has your brand aligned with a charity? Has it embraced sustainability and green initiatives? Is there a corporate social responsibility message that’s making its way to customers’ ears?

• Rebranding Strategy: Why Your Rebrand Must Embrace Storytelling

• Brand Profiling: Top 6 Components to Creating a Strong Brand Personality

• Creating New Brands: Top 10 Tips for Brand Success

• Brand Personality: Is Your Brand’s Character Big Enough to Compete?

• Millennial Branding: 6 Ways Your Brand Can Appeal to Millennial Customers

• Co-Branding: 13 Tips for Growing Your Brand Through Strategic Partnerships

• Video Brand Strategy: Top 11 Tips for How and Why You Need to Use Video

[1] http://www.aiga.org/medalist-walterlandor

[2] https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/micromoments/au.html

[3] http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=13270229011

[4] http://landor.com/news/landor-releases-2016-brand-trends-brick-and-mortar-is-back-and-speedy-seamless-sensory-experiences-are-in-demand

[5] http://www.edelman.com/insights/intellectual-property/8095-exchange

[6] http://pwc.to/1XKvq8G

[7] http://cf.bgwm.co/v1/toplists/2015/wines/BOY_Enth_100_2015.pdf

[8] http://www.fastcocreate.com/3046378/dude-chases-a-girl-and-a-healthier-lifestyle-in-this-new-fitbit-ad

Luxury Branding: How to Establish or Re-Position Your High-End Brand

November 30, 2015/0 Comments/in Brand Ambassador, Brand Audit, Brand Auditing, Brand Audits, Brand Champions, Brand Collaboration, Brand Experience, Brand Health Check, Brand Identity Design, Brand Personality, Brand Premiumisation, Brand Profiling & Positioning, Brand Promise, Brand Strategy, Branding, Co-Branding, Luxury Branding, Packaging, Packaging Design, Premiumization /by Lorraine Carter

In order to understand the branding strategies developed and utilized by the top luxury brands, those who have maintained their reputation for over several decades, as well as those that have successfully re-positioned themselves as high-end brands, we must first look at the very definition of luxury.

There are four main characteristics by which the luxury customer defines a luxury brand:

Quality
Craftsmanship
Exclusivity
Elegance

However, the way in which someone perceives luxury will depend on factors ranging from their socio-economic status to their geographical location. According to latest Albatross Global Solutions and Numberly study, “The Journey of a Luxury Consumer”, people from different parts of the world prioritize the order of importance of these key factors differently when defining luxury goods. For example, an overwhelming majority of luxury consumers worldwide value quality above all else, however, UK luxury consumers place more importance on craftsmanship, while elegance plays a more vital role when it comes the global luxury market.

Since customer preferences and definitions can vary from one jurisdiction to another, luxury brands need to tailor their brand communications strategy for each of the relevant market segments they are targeting, while remaining true to their core brand values, brand DNA and brand story. It can be challenging but with the right brand strategy it can be hugely rewarding, as evidenced by Louis Vuitton and their distinctly different approach to marketing their luxury brand in Japan.

The brand collaborated with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami in the early 2000’s to create a more colourful version of their classic monogram, and even reduced prices slightly during the economic crisis, to retain its position on the Japanese luxury market. However, it performed best when focusing on the quality and craftsmanship aspects of luxury brand on the Japanese market, as opposed to the allure of exclusivity and elegance — that had a greater impact with their customers in Western countries.

Luxury is About Exclusivity

In order to thrive, a luxury brand needs to secure its own unique corner of the market. Premiumisation strategies or high price points are designed to attract a particular kind of customer while alienating others – the high quality, and the unique experience that a luxury brand provides will not be right for everyone, nor should it be. To quote the head of Lexus Europe, Alain Uyttenhoven: “Our cars won’t please everyone.”

The brand strategy developed and deployed in different jurisdictions often varies because the definition of luxury changes amongst consumers as we move around the world and up the socio-economic ladder. Also, some of the top luxury brands strategically choose to stay out of the most obvious limelight. Very subtle marketing and the fact that the general public isn’t necessarily aware of their existence creates a unique aura of mystique and exclusivity. It also alludes to the fact that high-quality craftsmanship and aesthetics are amongst luxury brands’ highest priorities, values which are not compromised by things such as price sensitivities.

The brands at the very top of the luxury spectrum are not necessarily bound by the same constrictions of the more mainstream ‘accessible’ luxury or premium sector. Indeed, more exceptionally wealthy clientele might perceive price tags or ostentatious displays of affluence as lacking in taste in certain markets. In fact, there is a wise old saying in the luxury yacht industry: “If you have to ask about the price, you probably can’t afford it.”

Infographic via Raconteur.net

The French purveyor of personalized luggage, Goyard, is a fine example of a luxury fashion brand that has retained its high-end status for over a century, continually prospering without engaging in many of the strategies that are considered to be the cornerstones of effective mainstream marketing.

The brand favours direct sales and word of mouth marketing over media hype, large-scale advertising and online sales, even though Goyard has thousands of followers on several social media platforms, including the luxury brand’s newly launched YouTube channel.

This extreme level of exclusivity amongst long established luxury brands, e.g. specialising in a single product category to the point of elevating a brand to the level of art or supreme craftsmanship, can be used as one element of a brand strategy to create distinction and separate it from the rest of the market, but it can also be a more challenging route for newer entrants to the luxury market.

The luxury landscape is changing, and a brand can quickly become irrelevant if it lacks online exposure. Millennials are close to outspending Baby Boomers, according to a Berglass + Associates and Women’s Wear Daily study that explored the retail industry, which means that a brand has to account for the values that drive Millennials when developing their brand strategy.

For Millennials the bigger purpose of a brand, its big why, has a significant impact on their purchasing decisions which means that CSR and so forth has a bigger role to play in brand strategy than every before — for this growing audience.

The smartphone is an essential component of the Millennial lifestyle because it allows easy access to multiple online platforms and immediate connectivity – 85% of Millennials in the 18-25 age bracket and 86% of those in the 25-34 age bracket own a smartphone[2], while 88% of Millennials use Facebook as their primary news source.[3] For more traditional brands this means embracing new fully integrated brand strategies that wouldn’t have seemed relevant eight to ten years ago.

Even luxury brands that are primarily focused on in-store purchases, e.g. Goyard, are investing in social media and reaching out to affluent Millennials. The way that younger generations perceive luxury is markedly different from the way Baby Boomers perceive it, and luxury brands have a challenging task ahead of them – educating Millennials on luxury goods and adapting their brand strategy to fit the Millennial lifestyle.

Develop Trademark Brand Symbols and Assets Beyond Just Your Brand Logo

Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé has been virtually unchanged for years, and the silhouette itself is just as recognizable as the logo, brand name and the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot attached to the bonnet.

It’s the Rolls-Royce uncompromising commitment to quality craftsmanship and attention to detail that has the brand where it is today. When we work with clients to develop a distinct brand identity that reflects their core brand values, personality, story and communicates their brand message it requires a similar level of focus from everyone working on the project coupled with a deep understanding of the brand’s primary target audience in order to achieve successful results.

Burberry’s trademark black, tan and red check pattern and Channel No. 5 perfume’s simple, yet elegant bottle design are both instantly recognised by the average consumer. These are distinct, different and memorable brand assets that are as important as the brand names themselves.

Founded 150 years ago Burberry is a particularly interesting case study because not long ago it was struggling to maintain a consistent brand identity leading to the brand falling off its luxury positioning, despite its admirable provenance. Inconsistencies in product variants, pricing and communication strategies all combined to undermine the brand. In fact this brand, now worn by Emma Watson and Kate Moss to mention a few high profile names, was once at risk of being considered frumpy before its very successful luxury revitalization strategy was implemented so successfully.

It wasn’t until Angela Ahrendts took over as CEO that a long-overdue brand repositioning and brand relaunch was set in motion resulting in the iconic and much sought-after luxury brand we see today. The company was restructured and the sourcing of materials and production was centralised in the UK. Burberry stores were modernized and equipped with iPads, digital displays and audio equipment that enabled the brand to showcase its quality craftsmanship through video material, and to provide a more engaging customer experience.

However, the true stroke of genius was the decision to focus on a younger demographic, and utilize social media as a powerful promotional tool. To successfully target the affluent Millennial consumer, Burberry had to diversify its product line and make significant stylistic changes, while at the same time retaining the timeless aesthetic that the brand was once known for.

The results of the brand relaunch were astonishing – Burberry doubled their revenue and operating income within five years, and successfully repositioned their brand as a luxury brand. Their famous Burberry check is once again associated with premium quality British craftsmanship.

Provide a Memorable Brand Experience for Your Customers

With a luxury product, the brand packaging, presentation and shopping experience are just as important as the quality and exclusivity of the product itself. Luxury customers are far from average shoppers, they are wealthy and powerful people with refined tastes. A luxury brand has to engage these customers on multiple levels – spark curiosity, engage all the senses, stimulate the mind, and make an emotional connection.

The Gentleman Floris, a new line of luxury men’s grooming products launched by the Floris London, a nearly 300-year-old British family perfumers brand since 1730, uses understated heraldic symbolism on the embossed navy blue packaging to reference its noble origins and royal patronage coupled with its renowned to quality, craftsmanship and rich heritage. The brand story is used eloquently to draw its audience in and sell its brand proposition.

We have created many different packaging design solutions for clients over the years, both luxury and FMCG, and when you consider that on average you have less than 9 seconds to engage your customer through the impact your packaging design has on them, it is critical that your customer gets an immediate sense of your brand story, promise and values if you want to close the sale.

Image via www.florislondon.com

In luxury branding everything from the customer journey to the brand experience and customer service, not to mention the accessories, has to be carefully considered to ensure that it’s elevated to an exceptional level.

The brand experience has to be much more personal, which means that staff, your brand ambassadors, must be chosen to fit with your brand values and culture. They need to be fully inducted and trained in all the details of how your brand is lived and experienced, both internally and externally, and how that unique brand experienced is transferred and cultivated with each the individual customer.

Sometimes this training may also require the front line staff to make important judgement calls in the heat of the moment, in order to accommodate the customer’s specific needs. At the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, each employee is empowered and trained to anticipate and fulfil their guests needs with an exemplary level of service.[4]

Image via www.Ritz-Carlton.com

The Ritz-Carlton is another good example of a luxury brand that successfully maintain its positioning for decades and in fact case studies have been built around its success. The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Centre is now the place where executives from other companies worldwide in many different sectors come to learn The Ritz-Carlton principles of service.

The Ritz-Carlton success is due to a number key factors such as they have:

A formulated a set of standardized hiring criteria
Empowered their front line staff and instituted a standardized brand language
A consistent high-end luxury brand experience regardless of location
Take note of user feedback, perform regular brand audit health checks
Constantly evolved to adapt with the times while staying true to their core brand values

The Ritz-Carlton has created an admirable balance between maintaining a consistent brand image and evolving to meet the needs of a new generation of patrons who prefer more authentic interactions with the staff. It’s their uncompromising commitment to excellence which has made them the only brand to win the much sought after US Presidential Baldrige Performance Excellence Award twice, firmly establishing Ritz-Carlton’s positioning as a luxury brand and setting the highest standards for customer service throughout the luxury hotel market.

Create an Aura of Exclusivity by Limiting Supply

Special limited edition items often become cherished collector’s pieces and dramatically increase in value over the years. In fact, the lack of product availability doesn’t negatively affect a luxury brand they way it might other mainstream brands. Its limited availability to the select few makes it even more appealing to its target customers.

Long waiting lists have never deterred Hermès fans, who often wait several months for the privilege of purchasing the brand’s signature Birkin bag. [5] Some of the most popular luxury car brands are the ones with both the highest prices and longest waiting lists. Only the most persistent and loyal customers gain access to these limited items, which enables you as a brand owner or manager to create an elite subgroup within your customer base.

The Rolls Royce SG50 Ghost Series II is a prime example of a brand offering a limited edition product to a particular segment of their target demographic, another example of the exclusivity strategy at work, and establish an emotional connection with its customers. In this particular example, Rolls Royce honours the fact that 2015 marks 50 years of Singapore’s independence, helping it increase individualised customer brand relevance and secure an increased market share in one of Asia’s most developed economies, second only to Hong Kong in terms of financial freedom.

Image via www.luxuriousmagazine.com

The Apple Hermès brand collaboration helped connect the luxury fashion brand connect to a well-developed demographic of tech-savvy affluent Millennials while at the same time opening the horizons of the wealthy Apple users to the allure of a luxurious brand such as Hermès.

Image via www.apple.com

High-end craftsmanship and a sense of exclusivity have already been associated with both brands, but the halo effect of this collaborative project, the super-luxurious Apple watch, has proved to be quite beneficial in terms of exposing previously unexplored segments of the market to each brand.

Luxury watch aficionados and loyal Hermès customers who are delighted with this new offering will be tempted to explore some of the other Apple devices. On the other hand, the more affluent Apple consumer may easily eschew their previous luxury favourite and make Hermès their alternative preferred choice instead.

Be Proud of Your Heritage, but Offer Customization to Build an Emotional Connection

Giving consumers some decision-making power over the production process, even if their contributions are limited to the choice of colour or engraving, accomplishes several things:

It turns each product into a personalised more unique item that is to be cherished
It creates a more personal connection between the customer and the brand
It enhances the overall customer experience

Goyard doesn’t offer a diverse product range, but what it does offer is the ability choose from a wide range of colours and styles. A luxury customer can leave the Goyard store safe in the knowledge that the product they have purchased is truly unique, and tailored to their personal tastes.

Image via www.Goyard.com

Luxury brands can also use their geographical location to their advantage. A luxury brand is often associated with its country and region of origin – sparkling wines from the Champagne region have become a key component of many major celebrations, BMW and Mercedes are touted as the epitome of German engineering precision and so on. The brand thus takes on the qualities associated with the local culture. We can use Burberry as a good example once again – its British heritage has been a key component in successfully repositioning the brand as a high-end brand.[6]

Create an Epic Brand Story that Mesmerizes Your Customers

A good brand story is instrumental in capturing the imagination of customers, but a luxury brand needs to go beyond mere storytelling and develop a veritable fairy-tale that fully immerses a customer, to the point where he or she wants to become a part of your luxurious world. The brand experience and how that is created lived and experienced is the penultimate test.

The legend of Coco Chanel and the immense respect consumers still have for the Chanel brand matriarch is a prime example of how effective legends can be in promoting a luxury brand. Her humble beginnings, timeless style and daring persona are woven into a narrative that all ambitious, independent, fashionable and adventurous women around the world find inspiring.

On the other hand, we have brands with a proud and storied history, such as White’s Gentlemen’s Club in London, which has no intention of expanding or opening its doors to anyone but the most select clientele.

Image via www.Goyard.com

Much like Goyard, White’s has no need for heavily resourced marketing campaigns, as it relies on its few elite “members” for word of mouth marketing. With patrons like Prince Charles and several British Prime Ministers gracing the bar and gaming rooms with their presence, being a member of White’s Gentlemen’s Club is considered a privilege. Even David Cameron’s vocal critique of men-only clubs and the fact that the British Prime Minister resigned from White’s did little to tarnish the reputation built on several centuries of myth and legend.

Key Takeaways to Consider

In conclusion, here are some key points to keep front of mind when re-evaluating your luxury branding or premiumization brand strategy:

Ultra premium luxury brands often use understated branding strategies coupled with word of mouth, but offer unmatched top end quality and exclusivity
Brands that have successfully repositioned themselves have invested in brand audit health checks and embraced the affluent Millennial demographic and use social media to spread brand awareness
Luxury brands that have successfully maintained their positioning for decades have used their provenance and leveraged near mythical brand stories to maintain brand distinction, but continued researching the market and changing trends regularly, and encouraged customer feedback to maintain relevance
Providing an exceptional customer experience in-store, through empowering frontline staff and developing a consistent brand language, is very important, as a majority of luxury consumers make their purchases in person
Involving customers in the production process enables a luxury brand to personalise its offering with a diversified range of unique variations, even if it doesn’t have an extensive reach across multiple categories
Collaborating with a brand that has a significantly different customer base and brand associations can produce a halo effect that is highly beneficial for both brands

• Co-Branding: 13 Tips for Growing Your Brand Through Strategic Partnerships

• Brand Audit: Tips for Determining Your Brand’s Health – Can it be Improved?

• Rebranding Strategy: Why Your Rebrand Must Embrace Storytelling

• Rebranding Strategy: Using Premium Repositioning To Increase Profitability

• Colour in Brand Strategy: Colour Psychology and How it Influences Branding

• Video Brand Strategy: Top 11 Tips for How and Why You Need to Use Video

• Creating New Brands: Top 10 Tips for Brand Success

• Brand Profiling: Top 6 Components to Creating a Strong Brand Personality

• Millennial Branding: 6 Ways Your Brand Can Appeal to Millennial Customers

So, what do you think?

• Have you performed a brand audit to identify the holes in your luxury branding strategy?

• Is your brand utilising social media to its fullest potential and reaching out to affluent Millennials?

• Are you using appropriate brand language?

• Have you created a consistent brand image?

• Have you considered how you can make your brand more profitable by changing your brand strategy with a premiumization approach to reposition your brand, create an aura of exclusivity and attract luxury consumers?

• Do you have an exceptionally engaging brand story that elevates the brand to legendary status and could be leveraged to better effect with a rebranding?

[1] Statista.com, Value of various global luxury markets in 2014, by market type (in billion euros)

[2] Nielsen, Mobile Millennials: Over 85% of Generation Y Owns Smartphones, September 2014

[3] Americanpressinstitute.org, How Millennials Use and Control Social Media, March 2015

[4] Forbes.com, Micah Solomon, Your Customer Service Is Your Branding: The Ritz-Carlton Case Study, September 2015

[5] Uché Okonkwo, Luxury Fashion Branding: Trends, Tactics, Techniques

[6] The Australian, “Paul Smith, Burberry and Mulberry Revive ‘Made in Britain’”, September 2014

Co-Branding: 13 Tips for Growing Your Brand Through Strategic Partnerships

November 9, 2015/0 Comments/in Brand Ambassador, Brand Collaboration, Brand Partnerships, Brand Sponsorship, Brand Strategy, Brand Values, Co-Branding /by Lorraine Carter

Why Co-branding?

Co-branding is defined as a partnership between brands. It typically works best when Brand A partners with Brand B, each with a different set of customers and brand associations of their own. As in the expression, “the whole is bigger than the parts,” co-branding can add value when synergy exists between the brands; it creates an emotional energy, starts conversations and creates buzz around both partners.

Image via www.missvinc.com

What do the experts say about co-branding and the future? According to design experts in the field, co-branding is important as the path for delivering a one-of-a-kind product, for delivering something to the marketplace that is otherwise impossible without the contribution of both brands.[1]

Image of ©Virgin Mastercard via Bloomberg.com

According to franchising experts, “co-branding offers the best of both worlds” by combining compatible concepts and leveraging efficiencies, often placing two brands under one roof for a win-win.[2] And, according to a trademark expert, “co-branding has great advantages provided there is trust and transparency between the partners,” suggesting a kind of pre-nuptial agreement is the way forward.[3]

Co-branding Means Endless Possibilities

In addition to brand revitalization, co-branding objectives may include getting more bang for the buck, growing market share, building audience reach and altering perceived positioning. Co-branding is primarily used an alliance of two brand partners, although there’s no rule against bringing three or more to the party.

In the definitive book published in 2000, “Co-Branding: The Science of Alliance,” the authors laid out the opportunity on page one:

“…the term ‘co-branding’ is relatively new to the business vocabulary and is used to encompass a wide range of marketing activity involving the use of two (and sometimes more) brands. Thus co-branding could be considered to include sponsorships, where Marlboro lends its name to Ferrari or accountants Ernst and Young support the Monet exhibition…The list of possibilities is endless.”

Co-Branding Sponsorships and Sport

Examples of co-branding strategy are all around us, particularly abundant in international sporting events. In a longstanding partnership that has kept the ball in play since 1902, Slazenger is an official supplier to Wimbledon, gifting 52,000 tennis balls for each tournament. Huge sums of money, strategically spent, presented Rugby World Cup 2015 Worldwide Partners in a lineup of Heineken, Land Rover, Duracell, Société Générale, DHL, Emirates, Canon, EY (Ernst & Young) and MasterCard.

Image via www.marketingweek.com and © www.duracell.com

FMCG Co-Branding and Packaging

Co-branding in fast-moving consumer goods can provide delicious “Aha” moments. On your grocery store shelf, see a perfectly packaged example in Betty Crocker Brownies Mix boxes containing Hershey’s chocolate syrup in a pouch.

Image via flickr (CC 2.0, theimpulsebuy) ©Hershey’s, ©Reese’s

The partnership unleashed a succession of activities reaching way beyond the supermarket: Betty’s Big Bake Day at General Mills’ headquarters, recipe sharing among Facebook fans, events at Hershey World’s Pennsylvania theme park, cupcakes for the “Good Morning” television presenters to savor on-air and a road tour to launch a new lineup of 12 products for home baking. This multi-tiered co-branded campaign embraces a swathe of what Google marketers term “micro-moments,” from “I want to bake chocolate cookies” to “I want to win a trip.”

Image via © www.bettycrocker.com and © www.hersheys.com

Nike and Apple Lead the Way

In 2006, the obvious connection between listening to music and going for a run partnered Nike+ iPod Sport Kit, a clever technological advance and a natural fit for both the shoe giant and Apple.

Having cut their teeth on co-branding with a Michael Jordan product line in 1984, Nike is one of the world’s strongest co-partners. And, Apple didn’t stop with footwear; co-branding continues to evolve in their product lines, such as Apple Music’s partnering with UK fashion retailer Burberry and its high-end collaboration with Hermès for the Apple Watch.

This special edition Apple Hermès watch offers both co-brand partners unique opportunities. For Hermès, it breathes freshness and modernity into a brand founded on tradition and heritage. For Apple it’s a clear signal that it now considers itself to be a luxury brand fused with a formidable blend of design and technology, effectively elevating the brand and positioning it even further from its nearest competitors.

Positioning and Fashion Brands

Fashion, accessories, and fragrance are fertile grounds for a co-branding triangle (the third party is the person wearing the item or the scent!) A very interesting collaboration strategy with couture houses is being used by the Swedish mega-chain H&M. Specially created campaigns with Karl Lagerfeld, Versace, Stella McCartney, Alexander Wang and other celebrity designers underpins the chain’s statement, “High-fashion design doesn’t have to be a matter of price.”

Image via www.nytimes.com (Rob Stothard for The New York Times)

These limited capsule collection collaborations are massive brand investments, but H&M have been using them as to create high-street or mass market frenzy, media attention and as ruthlessly effective brand builders. The scene repeated in November 2015, when a Balmain fashion collaboration touched off pre-dawn queues of thousands outside H&M stores from San Francisco to London to Sydney. As a result, couture becomes more relevant and H&M gets a distinctive positioning with serious attitude — definitively separating the brand from its mass market competitors.

A Closer Look at Co-branding Pros and Cons

When co-branding is perceived as successful by consumers, it can drive price points upward. Three stunning examples are cited by Liddell in his article for FastCompany:

“The Doritos Locos Taco earns a 40% premium compared to Taco Bell’s regular taco. The Fiat 500 by Gucci sells briskly at a 52% markup over the base price of a standard Fiat 500. Online pre-orders for the original Nike+Fuelband sold out in minutes, and Nike’s equipment division reported an 18% increase in profits for the fiscal year following the product’s introduction. These are impressive numbers for what are essentially a taco, an iOS-powered pedometer, and a very small Italian car.”

Top 7 Benefits of Co-branding

As a marketing strategy, co-branding earns strong recommendations for its scalability. Co-branding for small and medium-sized businesses can be equally productive as for the biggest brand names playing on a global field. Consider these tactical and strategic advantages:

On the plus side, co-branding can:

1. Introduce products or services of one brand to customers of another

2. Represent substantial cost savings on advertising

3. Enhance the appeal of a product or service

4. Reposition brands with a more elevated appeal

5. Broaden a geographical market reach

6. Enable a small brand to punch above its weight and a larger one to focus on a niche

7. Alter brand perceptions permanently amongst a target audience through positive associations in what is known as the ‘spillover effect’

Top 5 Co-branding Risk Management Tips

Just like falling in with the wrong crowd can harm your reputation, co-branding with the wrong partner carries risk by association. Likewise, public perception about brands changes and endorsements can go sour, even without the drama of a superstar and a criminal offense. Readers may recall examples of O.J. Simpson former partnering with Hertz Rent-a-Car (1978) and Lance Armstrong’s former association with Nike.

Without a budget for superstar endorsements or the resiliency of a big brand, small businesses must choose co-branding partners as carefully as they would choose a supplier.

It’s prudent to take these steps to reduce risk when co-branding:

1. Identify partners with deep synergy

2. Collaborate with partners who reflect similar brand values

3. Choose brand partners that are leaders in their sector

4. Create programs with partners who best complement your brand

5. Retain full approval and refusal rights for all communications

Why Co-branding is Often Overlooked

First and foremost, you must protect your own brand. Smaller businesses often overlook co-branding for three main reasons:

1. Fear that the risks outweigh the positive

2. Wrongly thinking that opportunities will simply present themselves and

3. A lack of strategic brand vision

Nonetheless, when co-branding partnerships are strategically and tactically developed, they can be an extremely effective tool.

6 Tips for Co-Branding Success

These recommendations cannot be over-emphasized:

1. Research thoroughly, evaluate carefully and understand your partner’s corporate mission

2. Ensure there’s a win-win for both parties – that both brands will get a beneficial return on their investment

3. Protect brand logo and trademark integrity

4. Identify separate and joint objectives and target the ROI for each campaign

5. Develop a brand strategy plan and assign action plan responsibilities, with deadlines, to individuals

6. Communicate, communicate, communicate

Co-branding in the Digital Age

Our digital world is where storytelling meets online strategy. Have a look at the Facebook page of any small business to see customers who “liked” it. On a micro-level, that’s co-branding at work. Influencers for hire and brand ambassadors, some of whom boast followers in the hundreds of thousands, are the embodiment of contemporary co-branding on platforms like YouTube, Instagram and Twitter.

The ‘always-on’ aspect of social media connectivity provides opportunities for consumer interaction, contests, YouTube videos, Twitter chat rooms and more, often drawing on popular culture for inspiration.

In 2012, the #CokeZero007 campaign challenged commuters as they stepped up to a soda vending machine in an Antwerp train station to “unleash the 007 in you” for the release of “Skyfall,” the latest James Bond film. A music-rich YouTube stunt video, devoid of voice-over, has earned more than 11 million views.

In a 2013 surprise move, Google named their Android operating system KitKat, after a Nestlé brand chocolate bar, stretching even the most imaginative marketing minds about co-partnering possibilities.

Google-owned YouTube exploited the connection further in 2015 to link the platform’s 10th birthday and the candy bar’s 80th birthday. The message? Break open a yummy KitKat while enjoying YouTube’s most popular videos, curated for viewers’ break time.

For Christmas 2015, Burberry’s YouTube ad connects the dots between the 15th anniversary of “Billy Elliot” and a cast of stars including Romeo Beckham, Sir Elton John, Julie Walters and “Downton Abbey” actor Michelle Dockery performing ballet moves dressed in the trademark tartan cashmere scarves and signature macs. The co-branded message translates as “Cool Britannia.”

• What innovative co-branding partnerships have impressed you lately?

• Are short-term partnerships a good choice for small businesses?

• Could you use co-branding as part of your brand revitalization strategy?

• Do you have potential co-branding partners in mind for your business?

• Do you have clear objectives in mind for a potential co-brand campaign?

• What can be learned from co-branding mistakes such as Southwest Airlines and SeaWorld?

• Can brands insulate themselves from external forces and public opinion, such as the

Greenpeace effect on ending the partnership between toymaker Lego and petroleum giant Shell?

• Brand Sponsorships: The Best Brand Ambassadors Are Already On Your Payroll

• Rebranding Strategy: Why Your Rebrand Must Embrace Storytelling

• Brand Differentiation: 30 Ways to Differentiate Your Brand

• Video Brand Strategy: Top 11 Tips for How and Why You Need to Use Video

• Brand Personality: Is Your Brand’s Character Big Enough to Compete?

• Brand Voice: Differentiating Through Your Own Brand Language and Attitude

• Humanizing Your Brand: Why It is Key to Commercial Success

• Brand Profiling: Top 6 Components to Creating a Strong Brand Personality

[1] Devin Liddell, “3 Reasons Why Co-Making is the Future of Branding,” FastCompanyDesign

[2] Kerry Pipes, “Co-branding Offers the Best of Both Worlds,” Franchising.com

[3] Ilanah Simon Fhima, “Trade Mark Law and Sharing Names,” Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd

Brand Loyalty: 5 Key Steps to Building Your Loyal Fan Base

November 3, 2015/0 Comments/in Brand Affinity, Brand Ambassador, Brand Champions, Brand Collaboration, Brand Culture, Brand Design, Brand Experience, Brand Loyalty, Brand Personality, Brand Promise, Brand Relevance, Brand Strategy, Branding, Business, Social Engagement, Social Media /by Lorraine Carter

“80% of your company’s future revenue will come from just 20% of your existing customers” according to Gartner Group.[1] This means that brands need to devote more attention to building a loyal customer base, and in order to do this successfully they must inspire trust.

Given the number of recent scandals relating to brand ‘dishonesty, and the incredible ease with which the average consumer now acquires information online, it’s easy to see why trust has become such an important value. While many brands strive to inspire loyalty, and in the process develop their ‘customer’ brand champions, very few manage to do this consistently really well.

Here we take a look at the primary benefits of developing a loyal customer base, and some of the most effective brand strategies to do so, together with examples of brands who’ve managed to consistently inspire loyalty amongst their customers.

The 4 Key Benefits of Having Loyal Brand Fans

1. Free Fan-Made Commercials and Other User-Generated Content

Loyal fans will often provide ample content for the brand they love, and this can be anything from testimonials and reviews, up to a commercial with high quality production values. Tesla, the leading electric car brand on the market, is an excellent example of how talented fans can contribute to a brand’s marketing strategy. Elon Musk has always had a notably different approach to marketing compared a lot of his competition, and in the process has managed to build a veritable army of loyal brand ambassadors.

Image via www.tesla.com

A talented fan has even made a beautiful commercial, and this is not the first time something like this has happened – two years ago some fans from Evergeen Pictures filmed a heart-warming commercial likening Tesla’s product to a “modern spaceship”.

In both these cases, the fans were purely motivated by their love of the brand, or rather, what the brand stood for.

2. Loyal Customers can Help Your Brand Adapt and Survive

It’s a given that loyal customers are the backbone of any successful brand. If a brand authentically delivers on its promise consistently its more likely to be forgiven when the occasional hiccup occurs.

The revival of the Hydrox brand is a good example of how consumers will often remain loyal to the brand for decades, help it adapt to the times, and even help resurrect a brand that was near the brink of extinction.

Hydrox was actually the first cookie to feature a sandwich-type offering, with two thin chocolate cookies cushioning a creamy centre, despite the fact that most people in the world now associate this type of cookie with the Oreos brand. Hydrox had trouble effectively marketing their product over the years, and Oreos took the lion’s share of the market, but helped by a number of extremely loyal fans fuelled by nostalgia, they managed to apply a successful brand revitalisation strategy.

Image via www.leafbrands.com

In fact, they were going back to their roots and using the old recipe, so they needed help from their fans who still remembered that signature taste. Some consumers even had decade-old packages in their freezers, which they donated for use in taste tests. That level of loyalty is what keeps a company in business during periods of uncertainty. The question here is, what are you consistently doing with your brand to inspire devoted brand fans?

3. Loyal Customers Engage in Word-of-Mouth Advertising and Give Referrals

Word-of-mouth advertising is probably the oldest form of marketing known to man, but it has immense power even today, as witnessed by the success of Coconut Bliss. It started out as a small ice cream company with simple core values – they offered dairy-free organic ice cream, with coconut milk as the main ingredient. Their first customers were friends, then friends of friends, and, eventually, thousands of people from all around the country.

It was their personal approach to marketing, and that core of loyal consumers that quickly led to significant growth. Most of this initial growth was due to word-of-mouth advertising and referrals from very impressed consumers. Loyal customers tend to be quite vocal about their preferences, and are one of the best sources of referrals.

4. Loyal Fans are Less Likely to be Influenced by Your Competitors

When customers become emotionally engaged and start feeling like they are as much a part of the brand itself as they are consumers, a tribe mentality is born, which makes your loyal fans less susceptible to competitors’ marketing efforts. This can be seen in famous brand rivalries like Apple vs. Microsoft or Coca Cola vs. Pepsi, where customers who choose one brand over the other exhibit fanatical or cult like levels of devotion.

The 5 Proven Strategies for Inspiring Brand Advocacy

1. Create an Antagonist

Some of the most successful brands in recent history have managed to build a veritable army of loyal fans by demonizing the competition or providing their audience with a common “enemy” to fight against. Apple and Tesla are good examples of this. In Apple’s case, it was a sense of elitism that helped them rally a core following of loyal fans under their banner. People who placed their trust in the brand eschewed Apple’s main rival, Microsoft, and even showed disdain for the competition and their “followers”.

Tesla took a somewhat different approach, focusing on the eco-friendly aspect of electric cars, which motivated consumers to take a stand against cars powered by fossil fuels. Tesla was painted as a green, caring and technologically innovative brand. Their route to market was also different and disruptive, yet very much liked by their customers, compared to the more traditional ‘car dealership’ business model. They soon became a brave underdog in the eyes of the public, a car brand with sound moral and ethical values, and one that symbolised progress.[2]

By developing distinguishing factors which are emotionally engaging between two groups, you can effectively inspire not only loyalty towards your group, but also abject disdain for the other group. This all harkens back to research performed by psychologist Henri Tajfel, which has inspired many an entrepreneur to utilise social identity theory to their advantage.

2. Establish Effective Two-Way Communication on Social Media

By solely posting promotional content on social media, you fail to utilise the full potential of this powerful tool. Listening to what the consumers have to say and engaging them in conversations allows brands to perform effective market research and enhance customer experience, but most importantly, it helps establish personal connections.

Companies like Nike, Starbucks and Xbox have effectively used social media for both promotion, and as a means of enhancing the quality of their customer service.[3]

Nike and Xbox both have two separate accounts on Twitter, each with its own distinct purpose: a main account used for providing users with updates and for promotional purposes, and another dedicated solely to customer support. The alternate account allows consumers to ask questions or voice their complaints, and a dedicated team responds to all inquiries in a timely fashion. This inspires trust, helps resolve issues quickly and makes customers feel respected and appreciated.

As we have seen with celebrities like Kim Kardashian, who took social media by storm, it is also important to build a strong online presence on a number of different networks. Ms Kardashian is active on a number of social media networks, and posts diverse content on a regular basis. These accounts are populated with content related to all the different aspects of her brand personality – from fashion, to fitness and pregnancy topics. People can find updates about her daily life, beauty product reviews, and hear her opinions on current affairs and pop culture news.

As of late, a number of celebrities, including Howard Stern and Lady Gaga, have focused on creating unique media hubs for their brands.[4] These hubs are essentially websites, valuable brand assets controlled by the brand, that offer a behind-the-scenes look into their lives and allow these celebrities to post a large amount of exclusive brand collateral content, including videos, images, updates, guides, etc. Owning a unique platform like this enables brands to communicate with their consumers in a very direct manner.

3. Inspire Word-of-Mouth Marketing by Improving Customer Experience

A good way for a brand to differentiate itself is go above and beyond when it comes to providing the best customer experience. No one is perfect, small problems occur all the time, and customers can sometimes have complicated questions and unusual requests.

However, if you can effectively address all inquiries, and go beyond the call of duty when it comes to making your customer happy, you will gradually build a solid brand reputation with a strong customer base of brand ambassadors. Zappos is a great example of how a brand that focuses on exceptional customer experience and word-of-mouth marketing can become incredibly successful.

Of course, user experience is strongly influenced by the quality of your customer support, so your brand needs to invest in this aspect as well. Customers love to share stories of good customer service experiences on social media.

4. Make an Emotional Connection by Developing and Leveraging a Strong Brand Personality Relevant to Your Primary Customer

When we talk about your brand personality this is about developing the overall characteristics of your brand, what it stands for and the way it expresses itself through using a process called brand profiling. In conjunction with this overall concept you can also develop an actual character that expresses your ‘core brand personality, characteristics and values’ by using a character that’s representative of your brand.

Quaker Oats had great success promoting their Cap’n Crunch brand online several years ago, and it was in part due to their consistency in portraying the Cap’n. His unique personality and vocabulary were a relatable extension of the brand used to express of the overall brand characteristics and values, and all faithfully represented in every Tweet. [5]

The Quaker Oats social media team did a good job of consistently staying ‘in character’ using a ‘brand voice’ that appropriately expressed their brand, and the mascot of their brand in the form of Cap’n Crunch, all of which regularly engaged their followers successfully. They provided insights into their mascot character’s past, asked and answered questions, and even had some fun during the “International Talk like a Pirate Day” by voicing Crunch’s disdain for pirates.

This strategy enabled their brand to stay relevant, accumulate over 40,000 followers on Twitter, and connect with their audience on an emotional level. Past research has shown that consumers who feel a strong emotional connection to a brand are far more likely to develop a high level of trust in the brand, which leads to long-term commitment.

One of our key objectives when working with our clients is to develop a deep rooted understanding of their customers, particularly in terms of their needs, wants, loves, hates and aspirations using tools such as brand audit health checks, research and buyer personas. It’s only when you really understand your primary audience that you can develop a solution that meets and exceeds their needs emotionally, functionally and rationally. If you don’t address all these key ingredients through your brand profiling, brand strategy and brand collateral you’re unlikely to succeed long term or achieve the necessary brand loyalty required for your brand growth and success.

5. Reach out to Influencers

Influencers with a large active social media following can become incredibly potent brand ambassadors, as their audience places great trust in their opinion. In fact, research has shown that an astounding 92% of consumers focus primarily on referrals coming from someone they know, and in 81% of cases these referrals where found on the web. A few lines of text praising your brand from a social media influencer with a large and loyal following can garner a lot of positive attention. In a sense, reaching out to an influencer can be likened to hiring a spokesperson who is willing to work pro bono. However, in addition to having a reputable voice to spread the word about your company, back and forth communication with influencers enables a brand to convey genuine authenticity.

Image via www.blogkissmetrics.com

When an audience knows that the ‘spokes’ person, be it an actress or a renowned blogger, isn’t motivated by financial gain, the brand mentions and endorsements on social media are a lot more natural and respected. We can turn to Cap’n Crunch for some excellent advice once more – when famous rapper Ice T tweeted about having the Quaker Oats cereal for breakfast, the Cap’n immediately responded by thanking him for choosing “his” cereal and showing support.

This, in turn, lead to another tweet from Ice T, where he expressed his excitement about being contacted by the Cap’n himself, which was retweeted a large number of times by both the rapper’s and the brand’s followers. Something as simple as this can generate a good deal of social media buzz, and help a brand earn some additional credibility and acquire new customers.

However, you do need a comprehensive brand strategy when reaching out to influencers, so feel free to utilise some of the basic tips outlined in the video bellow and give us a call or drop us a line.

• Rebranding Strategy: Why Your Rebrand Must Embrace Storytelling

• Brand Profiling: Top 6 Components to Creating a Strong Brand Personality

• Brand Sponsorships: The Best Brand Ambassadors Are Already On Your Payroll

• Brand Management: Top 10 Tips for Managing Your Brand Reputation

• Brand Differentiation: 30 Ways to Differentiate Your Brand

• Brand Voice: Differentiating Through Your Own Brand Language and Attitude

• Humanizing Your Brand : Why It is Key to Commercial Success

So, what do you think?

• Have you developed and leveraged a strong brand personality that stands out or a clear antagonist?

• Is your brand approachable on social media and do you answer your customers questions?

• Have you identified what really matters to your customers and what’s your brand doing to create an emotional connection with your target audience? Do you need to give your brand a health check on its performance?

• Have you identified who would be relevant influencers within your brand sphere and made an effort to reach out to those influencers to build social connections?

[1] Alex Lawrence, Forbes, Five Customer Retention Tips for Entrepreneurs, November 2012

[2] Tamara Rutter, USA Today, “Why Tesla has the most loyal customers”, September 2014

[3] Brittney Helmrich, Businessnewsdaily.com, “10 Companies That Totally Rock Customer Service on Social Media”, December 2014

[4] Brooks Barnes, nytimes.com, “Coming Soon: Celebrity Web Networks From the Media Company Whalerock”, February 2015

[5] Socialmedia.org, Quaker Oats: Hitting the High Seas of Social Media, presented by Barbara Liss, September 2011, https://vimeo.com/29063976

Colour Psychology: Cracking the Colour Code for Profitable Branding

October 27, 2015/0 Comments/in Brand Collateral, Brand Design, Brand Strategy, Branding, Business, Colour Psychology /by Lorraine Carter

Colour is incredible! From rainbows to coral reefs and from bluejays to goldfish, throughout the natural world, the phenomenon that we call colour is a vital source of stimulation and communication.

When translated to the human sphere, its enormous power adds huge impact to communications, opinions, recall and emotional connections. In fact when used correctly, colour can be used as a pivotal tool to substantially influence purchasing decisions, be it product or service.

Leveraging Your Brand with an Exciting Red or a Trustworthy Blue

According to research from Canada’s University of Winnepeg, “Impact of Color on Marketing”, people make a subconscious judgement within 90 seconds of their initial viewing, and that up to 90 percent of the assessment is based on colours alone. [1]

“Exciting Red and Competent Blue”, published by the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, explains that colours influence how consumers view the personality of brands, looking at the impact on purchase intent. [2]

The University of Loyola, Maryland, reveals that colour increases brand recognition by up to 80 percent, while KISSmetrics says, “85 percent of shoppers place colour as a primary reason when they buy a particular product.” [3]

Studies done by the internationally recognized Pantone Color Institute® indicate that “consumers are up to 78% more likely to remember a word or phrase printed in color than in black and white.” [4] They cite that colour combined with text, as in a logo, impacts readers with the trifecta of getting better recall, recognition and attention — all good news for the brand story.

Creative Violet, Peaceful Green and Bold Red

Certainly, nobody would have thought to suggest to masters like Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh that colours don’t really matter much. Mark Rothko’s canvases, devoid of subject matter, convey their message solely through powerful use of colour, such that “Violet, Green and Red” (1951) was worth $186 million just 63 years after the canvas paint dried.

“Violet, Green and Red” – Mark Rothko, 1951, Wikimedia Commons, public domain

We know that colour is important in our daily lives. We live in a world of colour. Comments such as, “What colour eyes does the baby have?” and “Let’s buy a red car” or “That shade looks good on you” are commonplace statements. Most of us have favourite colours and feel better when we wear them.

What most of us don’t realise is how much impact colour has on all of us subconsciously, or how much it can be used to influence us in the hands of a knowledgeable master.

World Authority on Colour

Pantone® is the world authority on colour. Each December, their U.S.-based Pantone Color Institute issues a hotly-awaited Pantone Colour of the Year, meant to influence fashion runway collections, interior decor and yes, even car manufacturers. In 2015, for example, “a naturally robust and earthy wine red” called Marsala (#18-1438, to be precise) got the annual nod as top pick for stylish nail lacquer, neckties, table napkins, wall paint and more.

Image via www.pantone.com, Marsala 2015 Color of the Year – Pantone®

Colour Strategy in Brand Success

But, your company logo and your product line is far more complex than an accessory. Clearly, when a company manufactures products, designs a brand logo, buys staff uniforms, develops new packaging designs and invests in advertising, there will be no opportunity for a 12-month cycle to accommodate trend-setting changes.

Choosing a business brand palette is not about a designer’s preference, your favourite colours or anyone else’s. Brand colour choices are long-term decisions and it’s a critical identifier and influencer on the perception and personality of your brand. Colour is also widely credited with influencing purchase decisions.

Case-in-point, most people know where this box comes from even without seeing the sterling silver jewellery it contains. Somehow, it wouldn’t quite do if the box were red.

Image via www.tiffany.com

The colour wheel makes your business go round and round. It speaks to your customers. It differentiates you from your competitors. It is bold and discreet at the same time. It’s interactive.

Image via www.pantone.com

Change a signature brand colour and you’ll see how wrong it can feel:

Image via Fast Company Design, Paula Rupolo: Starbucks / Dunkin Donuts

It’s worth noting that Harley-Davidson is aiming to grow their 12 percent female market share with a sleek black model, not a sparkly pink one.

Image via www.harley-davidson.com

London-based colour and design consultant Karen Haller says, “When you use the right tonal harmonious colours, your brand’s message is communicated quicker to the brain than words or shapes as they work directly on our feelings and emotions.”

It doesn’t have to be beige.

Test yourself. We’ve scrambled the colours, their interpretation and one famous example of use in branding. Can you make 10 proper pairings? (Answers are found at the bottom of this post.)

Colour Strategy at Top Brands

Apple

Apple brought colour into a marketplace where colour had not been seen before. Steve Jobs introduced colourful iMacs in tangerine, blueberry, grape, strawberry, and lime followed by indigo, flower power, and blue Dalmatian. By the summer of 2000, the first snow white iMac was a thing of beauty. [5]

Apple was the first to say about computers, “It doesn’t have to be beige” — in the course of which brand packaging helped the company recover from a two-year loss of $1.8 billion to become the world’s largest public company, top in tech and the most valuable brand on earth. [6]

Image via www.apple.com

Heinz

Ketchup is red, right? Unless it’s green. Heinz sold more than 10 million bottles of its EZ Squirt Blastin’ Green Ketchup in the first seven months following its introduction in 2000 — because kids wanted it. That’s $23 million in green ketchup sales because of a simple colour change.

Image via www.fastcodesign.com, Heinz

And then, they over did it somewhat by introducing purple, pink, orange, blue and a rainbow mystery colour. No quite so appetite appealing! Mums hated it, especially when kids mixed them together on the dinner plate. Some 25 million bottles later, the party was over and all but the original were withdrawn. Colour matters and ketchup is red again.

Coca-Cola

Bright red with elegant white script, the best known logo in the world is considered to be Coca-Cola, which is little changed since 1887. When, in the mid-1980s, Coca-Cola made their first product taste change in a century, they also changed the cans’ packaging design to emblazon them with Coke lettering. They wish they hadn’t. Within three months, Classic Coke was back on the shelves as Coca-Cola. Brand marketers say it was a classic mistake to mess with Coca-Cola’s iconic red and white brand packaging design.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, Coca-Cola

McDonald’s

Where can you go without running into the Golden Arches? McDonald’s introduced them in 1960 to be seen towering above roadside establishments as America took to the nation’s newly-built highways. Why are the arches golden yellow? See how they stand out in this photo of McDonald’s logo seen against the blue sky. The arches rise from a field of red, very much considered the colour of choice for fast food brands including KFC, Wendy’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza and more. That’s it…a simple ‘M’ shape with happy yellow and energetic red, meaning “Stop here now”.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, McDonald’s

While colour preferences are personal, it’s universally understood that yellow means sunny and happy, while red translates as fiery and attention-grabbing. Whether a message is transmitted subliminally or overtly, the importance of colour in brand strategy cannot be overstated.

Since colour choices impact every aspect of a commercial enterprise, brand owners should aggressively re-evaluate that choice throughout their brand’s strategy, logo, brand collateral, packaging design, web design, product development, advertising and so on. Has your brand’s colour palette been selected with the right intent and applied to best possible effect? We’re here to help ensure that the answer is emphatically “yes”.

What do you think about the use of colour in branding?

Are you convinced that colour selection in logo design significantly impacts brand identity and consumer perceptions?

Would you like to know more about how colour selection makes a significant difference in consumers’ intent to purchase?

Do you suppose that consumers (or just designers) are influenced by Pantone’s Color of the Year?

On brand design, have you considered whether your brand’s colour palette is a good fit with your product or service?

Have you experimented with colour innovation in your brand logo, brand packaging, brand collateral or company premises?

How did you score on the answers to the colour matching quiz for brands?

Answers:

Yellow = Optimistic, positive, cheerful / Veuve Cliquot e.g. Cara Matches

Blue = Trustworthy, dependable / Facebook e.g. Wavin

White = Simplicity, purity / Apple

Green = Growth, freshness, natural / Starbucks e.g. Connemara

Pink = Youthful, energetic, playful / T-Mobile e.g. O’Egg White Eggs

Brown = Honest, simple, down-to-earth / M&Ms e.g. McConnell’s Gourmet Smoked Foods

Purple = Nostalgic, royal, sophisticated / Cadbury e.g. Massey Bros.

Black = Elegant, luxurious / Guinness e.g. La Moulière

Orange = Trendy, fun, approachable / Easy Jet

Red = Bold, powerful, exciting / Coca-Cola e.g. Tilley’s Confectionary

[1] http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/00251740610673332#

[2] ink.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11747-010-0245-y

[3] https://blog.kissmetrics.com/color-psychology

[4] http://www.pantone.com/pci

[5] http://lowendmac.com/2005/which-imac-is-it-low-end-mac-guide-to-g3-imacs

[6] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/globalbusiness/10002790/The-worlds-biggest-companies.html?frame=3293648

Purpose Equals Purchase

Profit is Not Brand Purpose

What Does Your Brand Stand For…And Upon?

Defining Brand Purpose

How Clear Brand Purpose Improves Performance

Case Study 1: How Coca-Cola Made History Selling Togetherness

Case Study 2: How Wal-Mart is Re-Thinking Purpose

Case Study 3: How Patagonia Used Reverse Psychology with its Purpose

More Case Studies on Brand Purpose

Questions About Brand Purpose to Consider:

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Method

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Charting the Results of Your CSR Strategy

Key Takeaways

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1. Tell a Strong Brand Story

2. Excel at Doing or Giving Something People Greatly Value

3. Truly Value Your Customers

4. Give the Impression of Scarcity

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4. Hybrid Technology Partners – Don’t Pigeonhole Yourself with a Poorly Thought Out Brand Identity

5. Narragansett Beer – Learn How to Appeal to Millennial Consumers

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So, what do you think?

Digital Developments in Branding

Branding Studies Highlight Customers Expectations

Brands Can Flaunt a Sense of Humour

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Brands Should Support Good Causes

Brands Gain Trust via Authenticity

Brands Become Approachable

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In conclusion:

Ask yourself:

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Provide a Memorable Brand Experience for Your Customers

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Create an Epic Brand Story that Mesmerizes Your Customers

Key Takeaways to Consider

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