How do you really value brands?

Why does a Durex condom seem to be the safest choice when it comes to protected sex? Why is Starbucks the first place that comes to mind when I ask my friend to meet for coffee? Why do so many people think Kleenex is an actual word when it is just a tissue brand?

                                         

I will tell you why… Brands have (magical) power: the power to make people think about them at the right place, at the right time. This is brand recognition / recall, and this is what any brand wants to achieve. It is the marketing holy grail.

My perception is: Brand is an intangible sphere made of a specific imagery, associations, name, sounds, smells and personas that give your brand an identity to differentiate your company, and to communicate and deliver a premium to your customers. 

This is why you cannot entirely measure brand value only by ranking them according to revenues, or market capitalisation index. 

Of course, the cash you make will speak for itself and will put your brand where it is supposed to be.

But is revenue the end goal? Or is it a mean to an end? According to some of the most famous agencies’ rankings, it is a defining dimension. Financial value is how WPP, for instance, assesses brands’ value and rank them.  

As I see it, it is a limited view, as now other aspects matter equally, such as social currencies. Your online share of voice (mentions of your brand &/or product relative to the rest of the industry mentions) sometimes are more impactful in consumers decision making process along their journey to purchase.

                       

So how can a brand enhance its value, other than by increasing profit?

CSR is, in my opinion, a slippery slope. It should not be seen as a Unique Selling Point as it is, nowadays, an almost normal criterion. You wouldn’t imagine Tesco not having a sustainable and social policy and guidelines along their business value proposition. So, to me, putting ethics and social responsibility on the front line is not strong enough to compete. It should be existent yes, but as a pillar, a benchmark to follow, for your business activities.

                        

What should matter to companies' eyes is the following: The truly ultimate ‘recognition’, when a consumer doesn’t need to recognise you. They just need a few hints to figure out it is your product. No more logo, no more slogan, no more music needed.  McDonalds is the most recent and brilliant example of that kind of achievement. Since last summer, McDonalds and their French agency, TBWA are playing the ‘no brand card.’ They are reasserting the leading position of our all time favorite junk food retail shop with just having close-up product shots and basic drawings on their menu (sic!).

                               

Last but not least: a little reminder: you are not in control of your brand, your consumers are. Don’t be scared, it is better that way..! The more participation you get in, the more your brand is going to be valuable to your customers, and the more of them you will retain. Customers will help you help them get the best out of your brand, and this is what any brand should hope for. 

Oscar’s selfie: can you market everything, everywhere?

My question today, and I really want an answer to that, is:

Why do brands feel the need to commercialise, put monetary value, on everything that is being seen nowadays? Whether it is RedBull with extreme sports, P&G with moms (and their disabled kids), and now Samsung at the Oscars? 

Yes, I speak marketing, I eat marketing, I breathe marketing, I even dream marketing, but a limit should be fixed.

Where has all the spontaneity gone? Where has all the true passion & interest gone? 

When Ellen Degeneres 'feels like' taking a selfie with 10 of the most major and influential A-list celebrities with the new Samsung, well the only thing here to say is: “Wow, a big Bravo to Samsung, great product placement!” 

But not subtle, not subtle at all…  

Because yes, I feel it is sad that a couple of days after this event, the topics ranking first in Google search for Oscar Ceremony are that, and a pizza delivery. 

Why care and get mad? The Oscar Ceremony is an historic, grandiose celebration, where the most fascinating and exceptional people of the movie industry meet and are awarded for their efforts, since 1929.

We should be talking less about dresses (ugly or gorgeous), selfies and pizzas and more about performance, cinema advancements, emotions, glory and success. 

But yes, I admit, brands now need to find extremely smart ways to pass through this filter that consumers have on their eyes due to a TMA (Too Much Ads) effect that media overload procure. 

But please, a little respect for the events / people / things that you (I’m talking to the brands) support or sponsor, and try not to steal the show from them. They are the real stars, whether they are nominated actors, disabled kids and their mothers, or crazy fearless skydivers. 

                               

This was an spontaneous / angry post, I should apologise, maybe... 

Super Bowl - The battle of the bigs

Exercise of the day: Compare & Contrast.

Okay, let's see what material we have: Two commercials aired on the Super Bowl night.

First, Chrysler: They went for the patriotic card! 

Bob Dylan, explaining, I quote: "It is made with the one thing you can't import from anywhere else: American Pride." 

I liked it: it says yes to globalisation: "Let German brew your beer (...) we will build your car"

Chrysler highlighted great values and generated posititive sentiment towards the brand, and towards America as a whole, who wouldn't like that? 

But Chrysler did not take any risk, didn't they? 

By not doing so, they actually might end up taking a bigger one: this commercial being forgotten easily. 

Indeed, the Super Bowl crowd is expecting greatness, each year. 

Furthermore, TV now requires brand to take on a lot of investment, both in money and in brains: They need watchers' full attention and this is not an easy task: people have their own schedule, they switch their focus from one device to another, and skip the commercials to go do or watch something else.

So was this a good idea for Chrysler to play it safe? 

My opinion: low risk, low return, right?

Now: Coke - They played the Melting pot Card!

No need for them to generate awareness: It is a more than established brand. And that is the thing: if they had done something classic like Chrysler, people around the world would not have been talking about it, even one week after the Super Bowl. 

Even if backlashes are violent - see the Twitter trend thread for #AmericaIsBeautiful - I do not think Coca Cola really cared about creating controversies. It was a 'controlled' risk.

Their primary aim is to be visible, and to engage with consumers. They want to create buzz, hoping the positive sentiment will take over the large amount of negative reactions. In that case, Coca Cola knew what they were doing.

And not to ignore one thing: even though both are very unique in their style and both generated different reactions, both have adopted a global perspective of America, whether it is the people of America in Coca Cola video, or the products consumed in America, as Bob simply put it in Chrysler Ad.  

Marketing in the sport industry – is athlete endorsement still enough?

As a proper ad-junkie, I spend many (free) hours surfing the web looking for smart, creative, out-of-the-ordinary, brilliant and also fun to watch advertisements.

There are many good adverts out there. So, of course, money lets your creativity surpasses limits and your imagination leads the way. So here is my opinion: Although car adverts are very expensive, most of the time I find them boring and so I think sports commercial are the best.

So, you will ask, what makes it ‘special’? Most of the time, it is the famous athlete in the advert.

Having Derrick Rose endorsing a promotional event in London for sneackers was a great idea from Adidas marketers. Not only the video was great but the concept of it was genius: have a look!

                            

      Jump with Derrick Rose

However, isn't it hard for a normal customer to "identify" him/herself to the brand via an athlete, that excels in sport? I could be wearing the same sneakers as Ronaldo, I don't think this would give me the same skills.. 

So what? Celebrity endorsement is not a good promotional tool anymore? 

I think it still provides you with this great competitive edge, but customers might feel the need to feel closer to the brand. Nike has taken this to another level and demonstrated they could show the consumer how to associate more with them. In 2 ways:

- 'The right balance': Endorsing a celebrity, but not an athlete, and to put her (Ellie Goulding) in an everyday activity: going for a jog, in her city's street, during her work day.

               
                              'Music runs Ellie' advert

- 'The right mix': Endless possibilities: featuring women challenging themselves, swimming to the bottom of the ocean and competing on the Olympic stage for gymnastics. Nike creates a community of people by including them in their advert, along with super star like Jessie J and famous athlete such as Piqué. To make them feel they belong here, with the brand, as much as athletes and superstars do.

                           

      Jessie J and a women wearing Nike in 'Endless possibilities' advert

Nevertheless, isn’t it a bit risky to “lend” your brand identity to a single person/team?

I think of Tiger Woods, but also and more recently, the French football team, involved in a pimping affair. A recipe for disaster: a handful of players, and, a not so discreet hooker named Zahia, taking advantage of this all media frenzy.

And, this kind of scandal, we can all agree is far from everyday life/concerns of customers… 

Although, star/athlete endorsements are sometimes necessary for a brand to raise awareness, when this point is reached, I suggest companies should look up at Nike as an example and turn  their focus to what really matters: the person who are going to purchase and are willing to associate themselves to your brand value & identity.

Zahia in the french media after the scandal

In a nutshell, companies should understand that, to walk the bridge up to their customers, they have to show they understand their real interests & motivations. 

Brand identification, emotional attachment is what sports industry companies look for when improving their adverts dynamics. 
The best motto: The real star is you…

                         Piqué and a women wearing Nike in 'Endless possibilities' advert

The Power of Instagram

http://www.modmydroid.net/why-you-should-not-use-instagram/#

These days, it has become almost impossible for any company, whether starting up or well established, to market its products or services without an Internet strategic presence.

But I’ve come to understand, when using one of the major social network - Instagram, that it can be done in many ways. 

Either rather obviously (and annoyingly... Who never felt the urge to strangle the guy at Facebook that added an endless advertisements column?), or it can be done in a rather subtle way.

I am trying to figure out when companies started realising Instagram was a great strategic media to use as a marketing tool. 

Was it when they understood the principle of it? The more likes you get on a pictures, the more chance the picture has to appear on the popular pages, and the more chance you have to gain additional followers (thus potential customers). Or was it when Facebook bought it? Enabling pictures to be broadcast, and even the “likes” & "hashtags" to be synced to your Facebook,  thus, spreading your web activity as a company even more.

I thought this would be my first article on my brand new blog as I, myself, have had successive “customer experiences” rather unexpectedly, on Instagram. 
I always think an argument is led by examples. In this matter, I suggest to list a few to prove that Instagram is a powerful marketing tool that could bring the Wow factor to companies.

At first, when I started my “Instagram journey”, I've added my friends, and then had a look at the popular pages, and the pictures that my friend would “like”. Through that, I discovered this French blogger Camille, working at Net-à-Porter and living in the same London borough as me! She is a talented and rather renowned blogger. Her Instagram activity is beneficial to her company. Indeed, she exercises a sort of extension of her  job at Net-à-Porter. She brings value to the brand identity company via this channel (in addition to her blog)  by posting pictures taken in her work environment (thanks to the "location" option, powered by Foursquare), as well as with her work colleagues at different events.

A more direct way is to have an Instagram account per say for your brand/company. Via the popular pages, I discovered this Australian fashion online shop, Sabo Skirt. This company plays a lot on its internal assets: beautiful team members, & gorgeous models. Photo-shoots, clothes stock coming up, Sabo Skirt maintains a positive and constant presence on Instagram. The co-owners also have their own ‘personal’ accounts. As part of the brand image, they "provide" the company with even more opportunities to reach buyers. Indeed, they take advantage of their personal accounts to post #ootd (outfit of the day), #potd (picture of the day) pictures, to advertise in a more sophisticated manner their own clothing line. A smart way to do it!

Food and drinks companies, also, can “shine” on Instagram. Healthy lifestyle is getting trendier by the minute. Being aware of that, a lot of fitness coaches advertise by showing their before:after client pictures to generate more demand. Companies such as Your tea (tea detox) and Pressed Juices (cleanse juices), which I discovered via the “@” (tag identifying users), also increased and improved their internet profile thanks to Instagram features. 
Being a gym bunny myself, I am always keen on discovering new products to go along my fitness trip. I was able to access these two companies' posts via the “#” (hashtag) option, and went on to visit new fitness inspiration profiles, like befitphotos.

However, Instagram has some downsides as a marketing tool. It can become overwhelming for a follower and turn into a negative experience for them... 
Here is some advice for any company with, or considering, an Instagram presence: At no moment, should your   "followers/customers" feel too pressured about your presence. It must not be too obvious that, as a company, you are promoting your own product or services.

Otherwise, it’s another promotional channel with no specific feature. Indeed, Instagram is seen more as a pictures/leisure/discovery oriented platform where people are probably avoiding the too much 'mainstream' and 'public' feels they get on Facebook nowadays... 

Even with its limitations, Instagram is a great marketing channel to me. It enables you to outperform your competition by reaching a wider range of potential customers to built a better & more sustainable relationship with them, something that the competition will not.