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The Next Wave of Brand Strategy

September 18, 2014 —

The Next Wave of Brand Strategy

The role of brand strategy What makes your brand unique? How does it stand out in your category? What “significance” gets people flocking to your brand? What “stickiness” keeps people coming back to your brand? We wouldn’t be surprised if these questions keep you awake at night. After all, it’s clearly getting harder for brands to differentiate themselves. Categories are becoming commoditized as competitors mimic each other in both products and communications. Brand advantages based on innovation are short-lived as others rapidly copy technology, benefits,...
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Five Key Differences Between Emotional and Emotive Brands

April 10, 2014 —

Five Key Differences Between Emotional and Emotive Brands

It’s not too hard to spot an emotional brand. It uses emotions tactically to either make people laugh or to gently tug at their heartstrings. These brands typically only do this through their advertising. Emotive brands are far more rare. These are brands that forge meaningful – and valuable – emotional connections through everything they do. So while someone may happily buy a brand based on its emotional advertising, they are likely to be left bemused when dealing with the emotional brand’s crass customer service people. The resulting brand dissonance will, no doubt, prompt them...
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Emotional is Not Necessarily Emotive

November 7, 2013 —

Emotional is Not Necessarily Emotive

If you haven’t already heard the buzz about the new Johnson & Johnson ad campaign, you will. And after May 10, it will find its way to a page or screen near you. Thirty million bucks buys a lot of exposure. What caught our attention is the emotive premise of the campaign, which is called “For All You Love.” With a name like that, you can guess it’s going straight for your heartstrings. The teaser image on the J&J home page suggests we’ll see lots of loving parents applying Band-Aids® and baby soap. This is not just because the company wants to play off how much we love our kids. It’s...
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Insensitive Use of Personal Data Can Seem Downright Creepy

July 10, 2013 —

Insensitive Use of Personal Data Can Seem Downright Creepy

Brands need to think carefully about how they leverage new levels of customer information when handing iPads to front-line service people. Using data and behavior-driven information, while a powerful way to forge connections, can easily go awry. I wasn’t too surprised when I read this in Michael Schrage’s HBR piece, “When digital marketing gets too creepy”. “The digital marketer who effectively runs Qantas Airlines’ highly regarded – and very successful – loyalty program has an unusual iPad problem. Flight attendants on Australia’s flagship carrier can now get up-to-the-minute data on...
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Meaningful Brands evoke “Of Course” Moments

June 2, 2012 —

Meaningful Brands evoke “Of Course” Moments

Meaningful brands make people feel good. We came across a reference to Christian Lindholm, of the design firm Fjord, and his “of-course principle of design”. “Most companies, he said, are looking to ‘wow’ with their products, when in reality what they should be looking for is an ‘of course’ reaction from their users.” We’re not opposed to brands creating a “wow” sensation, at least when there is a genuine reason to make people feel that way. Often, it is better for brands to strive to create numerous “of course” moments with...
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