• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, July 7, 2004

Let's take another moment to discuss the ever-changing role of a Brand. Last week, I wrote about the world as it stands today and the concept of taking time and money to build a Brand, but I was disappointed to see there were only a few people interested enough in the topic to post a response. This means one of two things to me. Either no one is interested in building a brand anymore, or I was completely correct and there is no way to make a case against what I had to say. I know full well that the latter is not the case, so the former is somewhat frightening to me.

Is it possible that we are moving into an age where a Brand is no longer as important as the DR Metrics?

I really don't think this is the case, as there are more brands being built these days and they are generating more loyalty faster than ever before. Case in point - iPod and iTunes. These two brands launched, grew and have generated more loyal, somewhat fanatical, customers in a shorter time than I would ever have thought it possible in the past. The same happened with Google. These are "new world" brands that are based in a digital culture and spread like wildfire via limited initial stage advertising and strong word of mouth, but what does this signal for the world of Brand Development?

The first thing of note is a subtle point that I just made... that all of these brands got their initial foothold through very limited advertising. They were launched and began to spread based on a combination of PR and customer experience. Once they reached a critical mass, they then launched ad campaigns to support themselves (for the most part). The iPod and iTunes advertising is now ubiquitous and even aligning themselves with brands such as BMW, but Google has yet to really do any true advertising. All three brands were developed in large part to the experience of the customer, some great PR and word of mouth from their users. Is it possible that the digital age, with its limitless opportunity for customer-to-customer interaction, is changing the laws of Brand Building?

It is a distinct possibility that one of the reasons we are seeing a shift toward accountability in advertising is that Brand Building efforts are now the role of PR and the Product Development groups. It is possible that Brand Building efforts are now elements that are worked into your product and rely on the global community of like-minded customers. It is possible that Brand Building is now the role of the consumer, and advertising may start to exist only for the purpose of further driving sales and market share. That advertising is about business growth and to develop a true relationship with the customer, you must now rely on the actual experience of the product itself and what other users are saying about it.

In today's culture, there is no room anymore for a second rate product as the word will spread quickly and the product will die out before the advertising budget even gets started. It seems as though smart marketers are waiting out the initial launch of their products to see what consumer reaction is like first, then launching advertising after they have received positive feedback. It seems that smart marketers are using the general public as a soundboard, or as an expensive focus group, to determine whether they should advertise or not?

If this is the case, then what is the role of PR in the equation? PR is playing an even more important role than it ever was before as more consumers have more access to more information. As more articles and reviews become available online, the consumer is becoming more educated on a product prior to a purchase, and therefore they are relying on the input of the people and the world around them. This provides the opportunity for a product to be openly flamed or openly praised, and for either to affect the ongoing sales and growth of the product.

If Brand Development is now based more on actual experience than on the messages of advertising, then what does this signal for the growth of the advertising industry? It seems to support the idea that all advertising is going to continue to drive sales and market share, that it continue to shift towards accountability, that it will keep moving in the direction we are seeing now.

It's an interesting thought and I would love to hear your opinions on them.