Commentary

Bomb-Proof Branding

Well I'm settling in after the whirlwind of AD:Tech last week. I was on a panel discussing how to create a bomb-proof brand nowadays. The discussion centered on consumer behavior that has shifted significantly online. This is all due to identity fraud, phising, pharming, viruses, adware, spyware and spam.

According to PIP data derived in May, spyware was at the top of users' minds. When asked if spyware was a threat, 61 percent said it was a serious threat, 28 percent said it was a minor problem and 10 percent said it was a part of life.

Users were asked about spam in 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 2003 approximately 25 percent said spam has reduced their use of email; just over 50 percent said spam has made them lose trust in the Internet, and 70 percent said spam has made being online unpleasant. The numbers peaked in 2004. Surprisingly, the numbers have dipped this year: 20 percent have reduced use of e-mail, 52 percent have lost trust in the Net, and about 68 percent claim the online environment is unpleasant, all due to spam.

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So what does this mean, dear readers? More than ever, we need to establish brand trust. How do you do that? Well the first step is to develop brand loyalty. Daryl Travis defines brand loyalty in his book Emotional Branding as, "You learn creating customer loyalty is neither strategic nor tactic; rather, it is the ultimate objective and meaning of brand equity. Brand loyalty is brand equity."

In his book Brand Asset Management, Scott Davis writes, "A strong brand position means the brand has a unique, credible, sustainable, and valued place in the customer's mind. It revolves around a benefit that helps your product or service stand apart from the competition."

Just think about clutter for a moment. Consumers are constantly bombarded by advertising messaging just about everywhere. According to Jack Trout's book Differentiate or Die, humans have learned to tolerate this bombardment, despite the fact that, printed knowledge doubles every four to five years, 4,000 books are published around the world every day, and the Web grows by 1,000,000 pages daily. Another mind-boggling statistic: by the time you've reached the age of 18, you'll have seen over 140,000 TV commercials.

As advertisers and marketers, it is critical that we realize that perceptions are selective, and memory is even more selective. You need to create a dramatic difference in order to have your brand stand out from the competition.

Martin Lindstrom coined the phrase brand sense. In his book (of the same title), the constructs of his theory are as follows: Sensory branding stimulates a relationship with the brand, allows emotional response to dominate rational thinking, and offers different dimensions of a single brand

The ultimate goal of brand sense is to create a strong, loyal bond between brand and consumer so the consumer will turn to the brand repeatedly. Other goals are to garner emotional engagement, and create a match between perception and reality with the brand.

Sir Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Atlantic Airways, said it best: "Branding demands commitment; commitment to continual reinvention; striking chords with people to stir their emotions; and commitment to imagination. It is easy to be cynical about such things, much harder to be successful."

So do you agree? If not, then let me ask you if you'd rather:
Drive a Hyundai or a Mercedes?
Stay at a Marriot or at a Red Roof?
Shop at Nordstrom or at Kmart?
Buy a Bose stereo or an Aiwa?

Get the drift? How would you define brand loyalty? Brand equity? A good brand versus a bad brand? Post to the Spin Board, 'cause I really want to know.

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