Why Brandhabits?
Hab-it; A recurrent, unconscious pattern of behavior that's acquired through frequent repetition.
Brandhabits highlights the good and bad habits that can affect a consumer - brand relationship.
Brand influencers or stalkers?
F
or a brand to be so loved that consumers market it themselves, is a dream come true. It’s difficult for all brands to achieve such a cult status. In fact, cult is probably a nice way to express it. I’m not sure these consumers influence others as much as they find comfort in sharing their faith with like-minded individuals.
You might run a mile from someone walking down the street with a Ferrari tattoo, jacket, gloves, key ring, and jumpsuit with the famous stallion shaved into the back of his head (Oh, and in this case he probably doesn’t even own a Ferrari).
The heavy, core followers of a brand are often referred to as influencers. In fact many brands search out their most loyal users in an attempt to use them as ambassadors. These guys are so passionate they might have spent hundreds of dollars on merchandising, visiting factories or even getting a tattoo. It’s at this point I wonder…are they influencers or stalkers? And in the wink of an eye, they can just as passionately hate your brand. Read more…
Reinventing the wheel
I think it’s time that brands and marketers took a good look at reinventing the wheel. We’ve been adding to, tweaking and re-shaping the wheel for far too long. The result – commoditisation of products and services and an underwhelming proliferation of choice.
The root of this problem lies in a number of areas. A colleague highlighted some of these in a presentation to marketers recently.
One of the root causes of so much sameness is the way we research products. Every brand has access to the same data, asks the same questions and gets the same answers, often in an isolated and sterile environment (behind a one-way glass window). We talk about consumer needs, being consumer led, but fail to realise that they don’t always know what they need and don’t always take to new products and innovations positively. Change can be uncomfortable, for them and us. Indeed, brands and products like Absolut, Sony’s Walkman and the TV show Seinfeld, would never have seen the light of day if Executives had listened to consumers.
Read more…
Brand delusion
It’s been a while since my last post. A new role, new city and new challenges have taken priority. However, they’ve also intensified my passion for brands and the belief that they have to sit at the heart of an organisation, which means the connection with employees is essential.
Bad habits are often hard to break and reverse. They can happen quickly with long-term effects. When it comes to employees and the culture of your organisation those effects require significant transformation in order to be reversed.
A powerful brand idea placed at the heart of your organisation can give everyone a sense of purpose and cohesion. People will take a drop in salary, move cities or countries, just for the chance to work for you. But, when that idea is absent or a business becomes too focused on the bottom line, people, culture and brand come bottom of the list of priorities and an afterthought only focused on by the marketing department.
Consideration, not awareness
The word awareness is overused. I hear advertising sales executives sell branding awareness campaigns. I hear marketer’s launch products with a target awareness figure as a primary measure of success, closely followed by share of voice. I thought we’d moved on from this.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand the basics here. If nobody knows about your new product or service then they’re less likely to buy it. But, isn’t that it? It’s just basics? My Mum is aware of my Tag Heuer watch and my Macbook Pro, but she’s not about to go and buy either. Ok, “It’s not about overall awareness”, I hear you say, “We look at awareness with 25-34 year old urban males, with high disposable income.” Really? But how many of them are actually considering buying your brand or know someone else who is? By all means, measure awareness, just don’t make it a target in your marketing plan. Use it to calculate more useful targets. Read more…
Perception is everything
by Andy Wright
Perception for many brands is so powerful that purchase decisions are a formality for their loyal customers. Years of successful Brandhabits have banked valuable quantities of trust, respect and delivered expectations.
Many of my posts here on Brandhabits have described my beliefs on the practice of good or bad habits. These are usually based on observations and reading. I’d like to change tact slightly with this post based on my own recent purchasing experiences. I’ve been in the market for a few things recently – a holiday, a car service, a new apartment in a new city and a new camera. These experiences have really brought home the power of perception.
I believe there are 4 key elements that can help to build positive perceptions for brands (if you’d like to skip the personal experiences they’re at the end of this post).
Social media – the door to your brand
Social media and its ambassadors Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn have proven that they are not a fad and are well and truly entrenched in our personal and business lives. Plenty of us have a presence on all 3 at work and at home. They bring transparency and depth to our lives. They allow us to observe, inquire, engage and have a good nose around. That’s why social media is more important to your brand than perhaps you might realise.
Consumers are actively searching for more information about the brands they purchase. Bear with me on the analogy, but Charlie would have given anything to get a peek inside Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory or talk to Willy himself. In today’s day and age (and hopefully with a bit more cash than he had then) Charlie would seek out Willy’s Facebook page, Twitter account and would no doubt be able to book a visit to the magical kingdom of chocolate factories. Will he buy even more Wonka bars as a result? Absolutely!
The choices that consumers make are increasingly about reputation and relationship. This calls for brands to be more and more transparent, authentic and conversational. If your brand doesn’t develop these Brandhabits soon you may well be left behind. Read more…
High disposable passion
by Andy Wright
If you manage a brand, chances are someone, somewhere loves your brand. Unconditionally. They tell their friends, family and colleagues to buy it. They lend it to them or recommend that they use it. They preach about the benefits. They might even wear clothing with your brand’s emblem em-blazed upon it. They believe that it says something about them, who they are and what they stand for.
They’ve tried your competitors but they keep coming back to you. Your brand offers them exactly what they need and expect. They have a special interest or hobby that your brand participates in. You’re a part of their lives.
The difference between successful brands and those in 4th, 5th and 6th places in their markets is that they have more followers like the case above. They also know them and have a relationship with them.
Is ‘controversial’ good for your brand?
By Andy Wright
A short post this week in the middle of the Xmas holidays. Driving out to the in-laws I passed a billboard ad for an iconic, Australian brand with some good Brandhabits - Aerogard. For those of you not in Australia, Aerogard is mosquito repellent and has been around in Australia for years. It first became famous during a visit by Queen Elizabeth II in 1963 when after a day of swatting flies, she was given Aerogard to spray. The next day the journalists following the Queen noticed that the flies had miraculously disappeared. The rumours spread and word of mouth kicked into overdrive.
Aerogard ad
Then, in the 80′s (I think) the slogan of ‘Remember the Aerogard and Avagoodweekend‘ was coined. It became part of Aussie vocabulary and the brand was well known for being trusted, reliable and family friendly. The slogan isn’t perhaps quite as famous and iconic as ‘Not Happy Jan’ or ‘Happy Little Vegemites’ but it’s certainly in the top tier of Aussie brands.
That’s why I was surprised to see this ad. A TV campaign earlier in the year focused on family and friends in a boat on the river, spraying the Aerogard to keep the Mosquito’s away. It was quite a typical Australian friends / family setting. Spot on for the Aerogard brand.
Are you in control of your brand?
by Andy Wright
I’ve been reading that with the increasing influence and freedom of social media you can’t control your brand anymore. In fact, you don’t even own it, your customers do. They decide what people think about it and what they should do with it. These are the new rules for brands. Apparently you have to ‘give away’ your brand.
I’m not sure I agree. Last time I checked, you (and I) were still in control of the strategy, the marketing plan, the packaging, the price (to an extent) and the investment into the brand.
So what’s changed? Social media has allowed everyone to talk about brands and product experiences. So you didn’t tell anyone if you’d had a good or bad experience before Facebook and Twitter came along? You didn’t hear about Nike’s sweat shops, Avis being better than Hertz because they try harder, which restaurant was better than another, or that a Lada or Skoda was about as reliable as a chocolate teapot?
Oh wait, you did. You (and I) still talked, reviews were written, news was reported, brands were advertised on TV. I’ll ask again. So what’s changed? Read more…
Brand cage fights – Apple vs Microsoft
The launch of Windows 7 has predictably been a very hot topic of conversation online and offline. Lots of PC vs Mac debates and pokes and prods at the flop that was Vista. Apple has responded with their high ground approach through the Mac vs PC ads.
Apple v Microsoft Cage Match
It got me thinking, is it good to go so blatantly head to head? And how do you win?
There are pro’s and con’s to starting a one on one war with a competitor brand. The risks are high and the effects potentially game changing in the long term.
First off, let’s look at the Apple vs Microsoft contest.
Brandhabits
