BRAND NARRATIVECONNECTING FOR SUCCESS

BrandStorm: November 2nd, 2015

Campbell CooperCentric Brand Anthropology

THE BIG PICTURE

THE BRAND CONNECTION

THE STORY (NARRATIVE)

THE BIG PICTURE

CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL ROOTS

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cul ture [kuhl cher] – nounA shared, learned, symbolic system of values, beliefs and attitudes that shapes, influences and drives our perception and behavior

Peaked in the 1980s

Status Quo: Utilitarian

Clear societal roles

Belief in rules, hierarchies

Top-down authority

Parental authority

Class-based lifestyles

Focus on basic needs

Production drives economy

Sober and serious

Yesterday’s Orientation

Distinction: Experiential

Families are democraciesSocietal roles malleableTransient value systems

Sceptical of authorityLifestyle identities replace

class identityFocus on experiences and desires rather than needs

Consumption drives economy

Traditional to Consumer to Reimagined Culture

Beginning to Emerge

Creative Consumption

Expression

ImaginationPlayful

EntertainmentIndulgence

IronicCynical

Co-designGlobal

WE ARE PART OF A RAPIDLY CHANGING SOCIETY.consider …

The influential role of womenThe baby boomers finally arrivedPower to the people via technologyWe can drive electric cars, even fast onesA chef-cooked healthy meal delivered to my door

Quality

Experience

Price

Quantity

Necessity

Waste

Price

Quantity

Contemporary(emotional + purposeful)

Traditional(functional + implicit)

PricePrice

QualityQuality

QuantityQuantity

ConvenienceConvenience

“If nobody eats it, then we’re not saving

money!”

“I want to support companies doing the

right things.”

A new definition of value has emerged …

CULTURE SIGNFICANTLY IMPACTS THE FRESH PRODUCE CATEGORYconsider …

Consumer drive towards fresh (vs processed)Organics going mainstreamTransparency  ‐ where does my food come from?Sustainability – am I doing something good for the environment?“Grow it myself” movement

CULTURE PROVIDES CONTEXT & THE “WHY?”

IT IS INVALUABLE TO DRIVE BRAND STRATEGY TO ENSURE YOUR BRAND IS AND STAYS RELEVANT

• REJUVENTATE BRAND LOYALTY• DIFFERENTIATE PRODUCTS & BRANDS• INNOVATE (WHITE SPACE)• DEVELOP NEW LANGUAGE FOR COMMUNICATION

Personalvalues

Productattributes and

meanings

Existingproduct

categories

Culturalrelevance

Social statusand identity

Social +media

influences

Brandattributes and

meanings

Competitivelandscape

Food culture

If we can get the IDEA RIGHT, brand connection and relevancy starts to make a lot more sense …

What can the “Right Idea” look like?

Good ideas don’t need to be radical – but they do need to connect and be relevant ...

Entrepreneurs are leading the way – creating relevant experiences and disruptive innovation …

“…over the last half dozen years we have been looking very

closely at the entrepreneurs that we compete with, the smaller companies that we compete with, and we have studied in

detail how those kinds of small companies develop and bring their products to markets, and

we have learned a lot from doing that”.

Kendall J. Powell,

chairman and chief executive

officer of General Mills

“People like me will want my products”

THE BRAND CONNECTION

TRANSLATING DEEP INSIGHT INTO RELEVANT BRANDSWHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

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“They realized they had got caught up in seeing their world from a

production point of view and not a consumer point of view and as a

result, were missing genuine opportunities to connect with

shoppers. And not just connect in a feel good way, but connect in terms

of driving sales”.

Brands are filters for quality experiences

Brand is of highest importance to Millennial and Gen X consumers.

Branding benchmarks are now set by Millennials, especially those under 30.

Myths ultra trendy

irrationally blowing scads of money at places like Whole Foods.

tech-enabled ‘never to grow ups’

more worried about finding the right fashion accessory than securing their economic futures

Truthsthey aren't’t buying many homes. they aren’t buying many cars. they aren’t having many kids.

They are cautious with their money and expect more from it.

Millennials are setting long-term purchase trends

Roles of women is the most significant cultural shift

Primary child caregiver Primary homemaker -

cooking, cleaning, decorating Primary family health‘caregiver’ Primary family food shopper Primary family clothing shopper

Family income provider Financial decision-maker Home/family-life organizer and leader Investor & long-term planner Home maintenance manager & do-it-yourselfer Home improvement decision-maker Family health director

Contemporary RolesTraditional Roles

Women control 60% of the wealth, dominate or share equally in 83% of purchase decisions

94% Home Furnishing

93% Food & Beverage

93% OTC & HABA

89% Vacations

80% Healthcare Service

74% Automotive

66% Home Computer

55% Electronics

Every year your customer will be ever more female

Because they are having fewer and fewer kids - and in many cases no kids - research tells us that:

Women will live longer

Marriage rates will plummet

Women will be less interested in romantic relationships and less likely to cohabitate

Women will spend more $$

Women will lead happier lives

Millennial women…

…are most influential in shaping women’s

culture.

Brands are missing many women

“Many brands pursuing this new generation of consumers often forget one simple truth: Not all millennials are male. Yet, much of today’s messaging tends to be “bro-based” or male centric, leaving out a diverse, demanding, and potentially lucrative market segment: The Millennial women.”

~ Forbes 4/21/2015

So what is a female millennial brand?

A brand that is used by lots of millennial women?

A brand that many millennial women have heard of which in turn

tests well on a survey?

JC Penney is a top Millennial brand

As are Coke, Pepsi, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and McDonald’s…

Walmart consistently appears on lists of top Millennial brands

“What is your top source for healthy foods?”

And the answer, year after year…

Walmart.

BRAND AWARENESS

is not the same as

BRAND LOVE

When we talk directly with women and ask “what brands do you like?”

Their typical response is…

A confused nothing.

Quality DIYReal AnchoringCompassion

Latent TriggerSecondary TriggerPrimary Trigger

From Predictable Products to Reimagined Experiences

DIY

Not lost somewhere in social media, they want to touch things and interact with people

Mia likes hardware stores and garden

stores “where you can touch things.”

She also likes being able to ask questions and

interact with the people who work there.

She has a lot of respect for craftsmen and artists, and makes

pottery herself.

Establishing meaning

Blue Apron

DIY ethos means people growing their own vegetables, often in community gardens, raising chickens in their backyard, andmaking their own Kombucha tea.

They want to build and make things, to be productive, to contribute.

Opportunities to contribute to the formal economy are often marginal, so they find other ways to feel like they are “doingsomething.”

Doing something

From Predictable Products to Reimagined Experiences

Quality Natives

There has been a lot of focus on Millennials as the first cohort of ‘digital natives.’

We think it’s perhaps more important to recognize that they are the first cohort of:

Quality Natives

Then Now Future

Wellness is About Quality

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025

Wellness Transformation

+Wellness Universe EmergesThe “Big Bang”

Healthx

*This is strictly for heuristic purposes and is not based on numerical data

Boomers Millennials

Supplements Vitamin Water

Stonyfield Farm Yogurt Siggi’s Yogurt

Turkey Sandwich on Whole Wheat Banh Mi

Skinny Cow Ice Cream Bar People Pops

Diet Coke Cane-sweetened Mexican Coca Cola

Seltzer Water Q Tonic

Spelt Pasta Thai Rice Noodles

Sam Adams Pabst

Quality means different things to different people …

From Predictable Products to Reimagined Experiences

Get Real

Products indicative of social values of their

creators

Companies that are clever, and/or

thoughtful, meaning someone put some

thought into it beyond “product attributes”

Buying products made by “real people” who are passionate about their product and put

themselves into it

Community and other contemporary social

values like sustainability and broad, basic

humanism.

Reflected in the DIY ethos and a desire for more distinctive material

expression.

Products with personality are not just “cool,” they

add a value layer!

Passion and thought

THE NARRATIVE

MAKING THE CONNECTION WITH A GREAT STORY

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Quality Issue

Which is it?

High Fructose

Corn SyrupGMOs

SoySugar

Saturated FatButter Meat

Social influences on meaning

Treated Water, High Fructose

Corn Syrup, Tea, Phosphoric Acid,

Sodium Hexametaphospha

te (to protect flavor), Potassium

Sorbate and Potassium Benzoate (preserve

freshness), Caramel Color,

Calcium Disodium Edta (to protect flavor), Natural Flavor, Red 40

Brewed Tea, Organic Cane

Sugar, Organic

Lemon Juice From

Concentrate, Organic Lemon

Extract, Citric Acid

What’s missing?

Brewed Tea, Organic

Cane Sugar, Organic

Lemon Juice From

Concentrate, Organic Lemon Extract,

Citric Acid

Just a tad sweet = on trend in food culture

Honest = transparent = real = good

T = Truth, with a capital T

Color palette = purity, trust, clean, integrity, relationships, love, consciousness

Space = simple

USDA and Organic

Round = gentle, female

…Meaning

Changing the conversation for table grapes …

“My commitment to you is to grow and harvest the most delicious, flavorful

grapes you will ever eat.”

Jack Pandol (grower)email address on every pack

Brand narrative has the ingredients for success

Superior taste experience

Relentless focus on quality

Brand promise is “real” and builds trust

Healthy

Transparent and invites dialogue (community)

Indulgent – breaking new ground for table grape occasions

Experiential (new taste experiences)

Great balance between innovative product and clever brand strategy

Simplicity of message and design – consumers respond to simple

Brand speaks directly to product benefit

Authentic and healthy

Transparent – “nothing to hide”

Automatically starts to reposition the competition

YOU ARE IN A FANTASTIC CATEGORY WHERE CONSUMERS                    INCREASINGLY ENGAGED

BRANDS CAN MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE

DON’T BE AFRAID TO SHAKE THINGS UPTHERE IS DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION ALL AROUND US!

ALWAYS STAY RELEVANT!

BRAND LOVE 2016

A deep, cultural understanding of women’s relationships with brands and 

why love is won by brands today.

CENTRIC BRAND ANTHROPOLOGYSEATTLE, WA

www.centricstrategy.com

campbell@centricstrategy.commichelle@centricstrategy.com