Brands and the Internet

Now, this is a story, all about how, big* brand business got flip-turned upside down.

I’d like to take a minute, so sit right there, I’ll tell you about how the internet came to interfere.

(*small ones too)

I think we’ll both agree that it would be truly magnificent if I managed to write an entire post about branding within the confines of the theme tune to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but alas this is an undertaking too far.

So, I shall begin. Once upon a time, sometime after the industrial revolution, there were a bunch of people sat around a long table, in a room above a big factory that made lots and lots packaged products to sell to all the people of the land. One said to the rest:

“We should tell the people just how good our product is, and that way, they’ll buy lots of it.”

And this they did, and they sold many products to many people, all over the land. Then, some years later, the same (rather more portly) bunch sat around the same table once more, and one of the group announced to the rest’:

“We should tell the people that our product is the best product in the world, and that nothing in life is better than it.”

And this they did, and they sold many more products to many more people, all over the land. Then, some years later, the same (rather more portly) bunch sat around the same table once more, and one of the group announced to the rest’:

“We should also come across as really nice people, so that when they buy our product, they trust us. Just like you trust Mother when she feeds you.”

This they did. They continued to sell more products to more people all across the land. The group started to notice that people talked about their product a lot, and saw it becoming part of the people’s culture. Life was good for them, and this reflected in the messages they gave to the people. Then, they noticed that there were some other people, people who were not there before, with a big factory of their own but making the same product as them. This was not good news. What if their product was cheaper for the people to buy? This could not be tolerated. So they met up again, around the long table, with portlier bellies, where one of them said to the rest:

“We must not allow the other factory to sell their product to the people, for our life will be less enriched. We must tell the people that our product is not only better than the other product, not only the best in the world, not only is there nothing in life better than it, no experience more worthy, but that it will make you happy. We shall tell the people, that when they buy our product, their lives will be perfect.”

The rest looked around at each other. What a marvelous idea they all thought. So do this they did, and they continued to sell more product, to more people, and to all the lands in the world. They grew portlier still, and lived a rich and plentiful life for a long, long time.

The change in branding strategy like the kind directed from the boardroom of my fictional factory can be identified in many well known companies, but it wasn’t until many, many years later that this system started to show cracks, and it’s kinda down to the internet. It took a while, but with the growth from the late 90′s onwards in online social media, the brand statements of yore started to look a little shaky. Suddenly the consumers had a platform, visible to millions, on which to discuss problems and reservations about brands. Technology has given voice to the consumer, and now brands need to be completely transparent. Any claim that has until now survived advertising standards authorities and consumer watchdogs, must today survive the blogosphere, the forumsphere, the tweetsphere… Let’s just say the internet as whole, to avoid me making up more words. Many brands are now actively outlining their brand transparencies directly to the consumer using the internet and related technologies; BT and Comcast on Twitter offering direct and live advice to their customers, Starbucks asking their clientele for advice and ideas on how to better run the chain, National Rail (We’re getting there) designing an iPhone App that proves to be a beneficial and progressive tool, Macdonalds using the internet to explain in detail where their produce comes from, how the food is made, how it gets to the restaurant, etc. These brands can no longer hide behind big billboards and flashy TV campaigns and hope that their message will be bought. They now have to actively engage with their audience. It means that Ries and Trout’s long standing idea of ‘positioning’, and the clutching at of a USP need to be revised. It is becoming more of a ‘personalised positioning’.

Brands must today cater to the individual need of the customer as much as they can; targeting a particular set of consumers is no longer applicable as the consumer today has differing needs, and does not by rule share the same consumer values as another from the same target audience. Social groups are becoming increasingly intertwined, and a large aspect of (or reason for) this is the growth in social media, or what is being called ‘wikization’. More and more information is shared online, news, stories, opinion, jokes, music, film, art; and this is reflected in the behavior of the consumer. Brands who are successful at this are listening to this consumer-created content, and engaging with them through blogs, microsites, social media, created content, mobile apps and other devices, allowing them to then assess and record data to then adapt their product or service. The consumer now has the power and the voice to directly influence and shape brands around them. This is not something that could have been predicted in the baby-boom  years of paternalistic advertising. Service brands and product brands differ in the way they manage their brands. Services tend not to offer a USP or differentiation as marked as a product might, and so need to consider more thoroughly its positioning. Instead of going for a big mass market campaign, service brands  employ more subtle, less in-your-face nudges, and focus on relevance to the customer rather than differentiation; combining the needs and desires of the client with the character and values of the brand. This of course is still relevent, but today brands can no longer depend solely on those traditional modes of communication. In addition to ads that share data, and outlaying aims in the media, brands are now creating and sharing online content. To be a successful brand you must drive perception, preference, and top of the head awareness, and to achieve this you must ensure a deeply client centric approach.