BRAND INSIGHTS

MOST BRAND STRATEGIES END UP BEING A PENETRATING INSIGHT IN THE BLATANTLY OBVIOUS.

– BRAD JAKEMAN, US MARKETING EXPERT

Brand insights inform

How consumers perceive and engage with the brand

How the brand must be communicated to the consumer

The implications for advertising are obvious

You can’t persuade a consumer to attend to your message if

They don’t know, like or trust your brand They don’t recognize the message as consistent or

appropriate to the brand

What is a brand?

It’s a story told/experienced by consumers

The accumulated “value proposition” expressed through The company/product The culture The communications

What do they share

Qualities of great brands Compelling idea: what does the brand

offer that the consumer needs? Physical and emotional needs.

Core purpose Central values

BMW

The ultimate driving machine

Core purpose: to deliver an outstanding driving experience through superior car performance

Values remain consistent across different audiences and product lines.

Quality-technology-performance-exclusivity

What do they do?

Articulate the brand promise/values

Invest in brand delivery across multiple platforms

Make decisions in keeping with brand strategy

How are brands created?

Brand foundation = the value proposition (positioning)

The product “value” is defined by the company as what they “build” into the product

But it is not always defined as such by the consumer

Consumer value is always perceptual, not objective fact.

All consumers do not experience the same product in the same way

Pafe

Brands have “identities” that are created by various authors who tell stories about the brand

1. Companies: create the story through each point that the company touches the consumer

Product itself People in the organization Retail environment Communications

Owned Paid

2. Culture Media appearances in movies, tv, books,

magazines, Internet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuAUI_0knfk&feature=related

3. Consumers Create stories about their experience

consuming the product, which they share with others

Earned media Blogs Social media

4. Influencers Reviews by experts Credible industry insiders Innovators and early adopters in the category

Guess who?

Apple’s core purpose and values To make technology accessible and easy

to use Design matters Functionality rules Simplicity prevails Creativity and innovation drive the

business

Expressed through the product…

Expressed through the communications

Expressed through culture

The result…

The Brand Story

This becomes the perceptual frame through which consumers understand, value and experience the product

And these frames are “sticky.” They endure, which is what makes brand cultures so powerful…and so important to marketers

They endure because there are too many choices

We’re lazy They give us collective experience (brand

communities)

Brand insight is about understanding the reality of this brand frame, not necessarily about changing it

What are we trying to understand?

4 Dominant AreasRelevanceDifferentiationCredibilityStretch

Relevance

To what extent does our brand connect with target consumers?

What functional and emotional needs are being satisfied (or not)?

What factors are influencing how relevant the product/brand is to our consumer?

AppleDoveGoogle

Differentiation

Where do we stand relative to our competition in our consumers eyes?

What are we offering that consumers perceive as added value in the category?

How significant are the points of differentiation? Are they worth pushing further? Do consumers value those points of differentiation?

Target Virgin

IKEA eBay

Credibility

Do consumers believe the brand keeps its promises?

What competencies does the consumer perceive about the brand?

Do they match the message? Where are the gaps?

Brands with high credibility? Why?

NordstromDisneyBMW

Stretch

Is the brand perceived as inspiring or innovative?

Does it “define” and “push” the category in a way that excites/interests consumers?

Is the brand alive and growing or dull and dying in consumers eyes?

NikeSwiffer

Brand Insight

The process of uncovering where your brand sits on these dimensions

Several basic areas of questioning to elicit brand insight

What is the consumer’s connection to the category? How does it fit in their world view?

What defines the consumer’s ideal experience with the product/category? How would this make them feel?

How does this ideal compare with what currently exists? Does any brand come close to delivering the consumer’s ideal? How?

What other associations does the consumer have with your brand? Competitors? Seek good and bad.

What would your brand need to do to make consumers believe it could achieve their ideal?

Insights will suggest opportunities for communication

IKEA: You’re free from living with your furniture forever

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I07xDdFMdgw

Dove: Redefining real beauty http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U

Disney: The best time you will ever have with your kids http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocXSqupDpoc&feat

ure=fvsr

Problems

What if your consumer can’t articulate any clear differentiation for your brand?

Citi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KERwnA8VfFM

What if there is no USP, no emotional connection, no selling proposition?

Old Spice

What if the selling proposition is the idea of variety?

Penneys Target http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPah6p04ZDQ

What if price is the proposition? Clorox

What if saving time and money is the proposition?

What if your proposition requires that you take on the competition?

Mac vs PC