Tuesday, June 16, 2009

the power of brand

We often talk about brand personality -- the character of the product, organization or service.
Building brand is about creating a poignant (and positive) experience with the brand. Disney is all over that. Coke cuts through the heat with icy cold refreshment. The i-phone is the fastest, most powerful and totally cool smart phone (the blackberry, the business phone -- not so cool but reliable).
The experience of using the i-phone or blackberry affirms the brand. The i-phone is slick, cool and operates with the flick of a finger. The blackberry is clunkier, and uses a key board.
If I close my eyes and imagine... the i-phone user is wearing designer jeans and t-shirt and the blackberry guy has a suit. The i-phone user is smiling and flicking, the blackberry guy is frowning and thumbing. This all affirms the brand experience.... notice, the logo was never mentioned.
Here's an interesting study.
Elizabeth Loftus studies false memories -- memories which actually create the brand experience. A group of people were shown a photo of Bugs Bunny in front of Disney Land shaking hands with people. A photo shopped image, as Warner Brothers and Disney rarely share their brand icons.
Then they had the participants carry out different tasks. Later they asked the participants to share their members of a trip to Disney Land. 30% remembered shaking Bugs Bunny's hand.
Brand is made up of a complex mix of personal experience and marketing messages.
When your brand is in the hands of a variety of stakeholders, building a consistent experience can be challenging. If your marketing message is creativity, but your presentation is linear and lacks interest, the marketing message will be lost. Each individual in your organization carries your brand message -- what brand experience do they give?

No comments: