Tag: branding

This Will Leave a Mark

Burnt Hand

Do you remember the last time you burned your hand? Well, whether you realise it or not, you certainly do.

If you’ve ever burned your hand when placing it on a hot pan, the next time someone places a pan in front of you, you’re likely to think twice before even touching it. This is because your brain has created a marker which associates the pan with a burnt hand.

When terrible things happen, it’s most likely that they will leave a mark in our brains. Also, without even knowing it, they will guide our future behaviour.

This is an example of a somatic marker.

The term somatic marker originated from “soma” meaning “body” and “marker” since it marks an experience permanently in our brain.

The somatic marker hypothesis was discovered by Antonio Damasio, the head of Neurology at the University of Iowa, where he theorised about the involvement of our emotions in the decision making process.

A Somatic marker is evident when your behaviour is a result of a certain feeling or association you possess in your mind. It’s like an emotional bookmark you acquire upon witnessing surrounding events.

It happens when you link two disparate or incompatible images together.

For example, it’s like the Energizer bunny. The bunny keeps running and winning races which makes it easily remembered and associated with enduring battery power when browsing different battery brands.

Such factor plays a key role in making you pick the Energizer batteries instead of any other brand.

Energizer Bunny

Most of our somatic markers come from our past experiences. They can be based on our positive or negative experiences.

However, most businesses often resort to the negatives ones. They use fear, one of the most powerful somatic markers, to affect their consumers.

Many marketers and advertisers try to create somatic markers in the consumers’ brains to drive impulse buying or unconscious behaviour. They try to build products and ads and associate them with fear to trigger images and create desirable outcomes.

This helps them to drive automatic consumers’ behaviour which is often a byproduct of the somatic markers already present in their brains. It certainly helps them to alter the consumers’ decisions and make them choose their own brand over the others. 

There are too many products which we only purchase because of our fear. We might even purchase a product just for the sake of feeling safer and in more control of our life even when we’re not. 

What’s even more interesting is the fact that certain events might create somatic markers which later result in the creation of a specific behavioural pattern on the long run.

Think about the 2008 financial crisis or the 9/11 attacks. These certainly have resulted in significant changes in the consumer’s behaviour and affected many industries in the process.

Today, due to the nature of the COVID-19 and its ability to make people fearful all the time, it will create a powerful somatic marker which triggers certain behaviours.

Such somatic marker will affect the consumers’ perceptions and purchasing patterns in the long term.

It’s important for both of the consumers and businesses to realise that the purchasing decisions aren’t always conscious. The somatic markers are often the cause behind our behaviour which is based on our “gut feeling”.

Sometimes, our actions are seen in the form of a “fast response” when, in fact, they are only a result of the somatic markers which were made in our brain from our past experiences.

So, the next time you want to purchase something, keep in mind that you might easily fall a victim for somatic markers. After all, emotion is what most marketers thrive on.

Brand Rituals

Although most people mistake brands for merely a logo, it goes way beyond that. A brand resembles the collective and synergistic outcome of several elements including the brand’s logo, colour palette, and ritual.

Many brands tend to create rituals which entail certain habits or behaviours associated with their identity to increase their brand’s attractiveness and consumers’ loyalty.

A ritual becomes a common ground where all consumers connect and interact with the brand. It also helps to build brand familiarity which translates into trust later on.

Although it takes a lot of time to build a ritual, its effects will last for generations. Think about Oreo, for example, it’s not really a special cookie, but it has managed to create a ritual and communicate it repeatedly for its consumers. 

Wherever you go, in any part of the world, you’ll definitely meet people who know how to eat an Oreo correctly.

Oreo Cookies

Brand rituals are a very powerful tool. It helps create nostalgia, and it makes consumers engage with the brands’ offerings. This, in turn, shows that consumers care enough to take part in the ritual and thus, it certainly adds a lot of value to the brand’s offering.

Building a brand ritual could be through repetition, but the key is that it has to speak into the brand’s core elements and identity.

The reason why most brand rituals are effective lies in the fact that humans always seek belonging, whether to a brand or a tribe of some sort.

Having a ritual creates a sense of connectivity with brands and other consumers.

As it seems, humans always have a tendency to belong to a community which caters to their needs and to their self-image.  When creating a brand ritual, it invites consumers to become a member of the brand’s “tribe” or community.

To add up, upon building a community of brand enthusiasts, consumers are more likely to interact with one another which increases the brand’s perceived value. It also shifts the brand’s perception and creates more affective consumers’ responses. 

A brand-specific ritual helps to create a culture where it blends different sets of values with emotional connection and extends them with the brand’s symbols, stories, logo, and different artefacts.

This allows the brand to create a special bond and to develop meaningful engagements with their consumers.

Another importance for a brand ritual lies in encouraging consumers’ repeated purchases which transforms into a habit later on. This helps the brands to predict their consumers’ behaviour.

For example, the Oreo ritual encourages dunking the cookie in milk which generates a lot of opportunities for the brand. Oreo could offer promotions or extend their cross-selling opportunities while increasing their brand’s value in the process.

Oreo free promotion

  It’s very essential to build a brand ritual which is consistent with the brand’s identity and communicated thoroughly.

 By doing so, the brand will stand out from their competitors and become able to communicate with their consumers on a deeper level. It will certainly make a brand unique and add up to its perceived value. 

Has any brand ritual come to your mind while reading this? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Marketing in the Age of Corona

illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of Coronavirus

The thing with viruses is that they catch on. They spread from one person to another and they grow exponentially. In marketing, most of us are familiar with the term “viral marketing”; marketing that allows the message to reach a huge audience quickly and cost-effectively.

This type of marketing got its name from the fact that it spreads like a virus. Many marketers want to achieve “viral marketing”, but most companies seem to overlook the marketing needed in the time of a virus spread.

Marketers should realise that with the on-going creation and spread of new viruses each year, a crisis management PR team is needed more than ever.

We all know how viruses can cause a wave of panic worldwide, this is the case with “Corona Virus” nowadays, but what’s also important is that brands take measures to protect their reputation and their customers.

So how can a virus affect a brand & its ability to offer value? And can it actually allow brands to achieve viral marketing?

In a virus outbreak, customers might create a new set of associations for a brand. The messages communicated or the actions taken by brands in that period might affect the people’s perceptions later on.

When a brand shares messages related to precautions or safety measures, it is likely to enhance the customer’s trust and the brand’s goodwill. It will imply that a brand truly cares about them and that it has given an effort to communicate with their audience on a more humane level.

This will certainly add a lot of value to the brand and develop deeper relationships with their customers. It’s not about taking advantage of the whole situation but, rather, deriving value out of it to deliver it to the customers, for in times of crisis, profit comes second.

In the light of Corona, although most brands chose to remain silent on this issue, one of the brands that broke this silence is Lush. In the UK, Lush has invited people to wash their hands in-store for free to promote the hand-washing guidelines as advised by the NHS in the UK & the WHO. This will certainly add to the brand’s goodwill & reputation later on.

Lush UK Shop

On the other hand, a virus can certainly affect a brand in the most negative way. It can lead to a substantial decrease in the sales of a brand’s products, or it might lead to an overall negative perception of a brand.

This adds importance to the fact that brands should invest more in their crises management processes to deal with such issues strategically.

Recently, one of the brands that has faced a lot of online publicity is “Corona Beer”. Although its name has nothing to do with the Corona virus, that didn’t stop customers from making certain links and associations with the brand.

Corona Extra Beer

Over the past weeks, people on different social media platforms were all sharing the results of a recent survey done by 5W PR agency which stated; “38% of beer-drinking Americans wouldn’t buy Corona under any circumstances.”

However, the sales of Corona beer show otherwise. Corona Extra has actually witnessed an increase in sales “nearly doubling the 52-week trend of the brand.” This shows that the negative online publicity has actually benefited the brand.

Although most people tend to share the results of a survey immediately, few actually bother to investigate the methodology and how it was carried out.

As reported by the PR agency, this survey was conducted by phone on 737 American beer drinkers. So, does this really represent all of the American beer drinkers?

(Plot Twist: It doesn’t)

What added to this controversy is that those 38% of beer drinkers didn’t actually describe themselves as “previous Corona-drinkers,” they only saw themselves as beer drinkers.

Also, most of the results shared on social media were to criticise those 38% of people, so it might be a win for Corona Beer after all.  Such media widespread has resulted in building more brand salience which stands for; the degree in which a brand is likely to be remembered in a purchasing situation, and thus, it increased the brand’s sales.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The boost of Corona’s sales might also be justified by the fact that the social media publicity allowed the brand to become at the top of mind for the beer drinkers. When ordering a beer, some drinkers might not be as involved in the “choosing what beer to drink” process as others, and in these times of crisis, it’s natural for “Corona” to pop up first in their minds.

The effects of viruses on a brand could go all the way from increasing products’ sales to making people boycott your brand. It’s up to brands to choose how such dilemma is going to affect them and their customers’ perceptions.

At some point, negative publicity might be proven to be positive for your brand as in the case for Corona, but it might have been smarter for Corona to steer those online conversations and perhaps even, to make a campaign that boosts their brand salience out of it.

Judging a Brand by Its Cover

brand book

It is commonly said that we mustn’t “judge a book by its cover,” but is that always the case? Unconsciously, most people seem to do the exact opposite. When thinking about a brand, most of us tend to visualise similar, if not identical, characteristics, so it is crucial that brands understand the importance of adjusting every touch-point, including the store design and atmosphere, to resonate with their brand’s core identity. In fact, in marketing, there’s a phrase that reflects “atmospherics as a marketing tool”, it was coined by Philip Kotler. He uses this phrase to describe the store’s atmosphere as the “conscious planning of the environment to create certain effects in buyers” (“Kotler”). He even depicts that, sometimes, the atmosphere is the primary product upon which the customers’ purchasing decisions is based on.

Kotler states the significance of the “total product” where he suggests that consumers respond not only to the tangible aspect of the product, but rather, to the product’s augmented aspects and features. He highly emphasises the impact of the place’s atmosphere on the buyer’s purchasing decision. (You can read more about it here). Although not all brands take this into consideration, yet there are many brands which incorporate their brand elements in the store’s design.  If you’ve been to an IKEA store, you’ll certainly understand what I’m referring to.

IKEA’s known for its convenient yet, visually appealing store design. Its furniture is demonstrated as if it were in its natural environment. IKEA’s stores are usually designed in a maze-like form where the products are strategically placed along the walking path. This actually allows the customers to view every item in the store unless they manage to take the shortcuts present at some points. This in-store strategy gives the customers a very pleasant experience in which they’ll later associate with the brand itself. It also encourages the customers to spend more time at the shop and to buy more items which they haven’t even thought about. On a further note, IKEA also manages to replicate its in-store style in its catalogue. IKEA’s catalogue presents the products in a similar manner as the in-store products’ placement. This extends the in-store experience and makes the whole concept of IKEA’s brand more concrete in the consumers’ minds.  

IKEA Showroom Map

Another store which succeeded in incorporating its brand elements in its store design and in building a gratifying atmosphere is Victoria’s Secret. Victoria’s Secret flagship stores could be directly noticed from miles away due to its signature and iconic look across all of the branches. Its signature black painted walls and dark lightning certainly create an inviting environment for all customers. Shopping through one of its stores certainly feels like an enjoyable experience with friendly customer service clerks who estimate appropriate sizes and carry a bag around for all your products. By having a person walk around with you whilst recommending products in a friendly manner, it is very likely to increase the number of purchases when done strategically. Also, the furnishing and dressing areas in its stores are consistent with the brand’s image as well. All of these factors resonate with the customers to create a pleasant shopping atmosphere which extends the brand’s identity.

Victoria's Secret Shop

It is extremely important that brands realise that consumers actually have a preconceived set of expectations upon walking into their store. The brand’s store experience must balance out their expectation or even exceed it. After all, that’s what quality is all about. Having an in-store atmosphere that resonates with the brand’s identity is very likely to satisfy the customers and to turn such touch-point into an opportunity to build familiarity and trust later on.  The strategic design of a store could help affect the customer’s purchasing decisions. It can increase the opportunity of impulse buying and cross/up-selling opportunities.

The atmosphere of the store must embody the brand’s message and even extend it.  When designing a store, brands could make use of several components to help communicate their identity. To start off, the brand’s colour palette should be present all through-out the store along with other visual elements such as the brightness, size, and different artefacts. Also, having salespeople whose personalities resonate with the brand’s archetype is also important. You can’t possibly imagine a non-tech savvy individual trying to sell you the newest IPhone for example.

Other factors that affect the store’s atmosphere might include the smell or even the temperature of the store. Children’s toy stores often include the smell of cotton candy or bubble gum which makes the in-store experience even more fun and pleasant. Such smells could serve as affect-creation tools which increase the brand’s associations and recall as well.

Brands must realise that their stores are an extension of their identity which tells a story about them. They must keep in mind what having a dull store means for making impact vs having a vibrant one. Customers might not remember your brand upon seeing it for the first time, but they’ll definitely remember how you made them feel at your store.

So the next time you visit a store, try to keep an eye out for the different brand’s elements present at the store for they might be affecting your purchasing decisions subconsciously.

The Mere Exposure Theory

It has been said that people tend to trust the things they’re most familiar with. When it comes to purchasing decisions or to building consumer’s loyalty, trust happens to be one of the most important drivers. It can play a huge role in making people change their perception of a brand. Although it takes a long time to build trust, it can be very rewarding on the long term.

One of the key drivers to building trust happens to be the brand’s strength. Such strength is derived from familiarity, either with the brand itself, or with its initiatives and marketing efforts. 

Humans’ reactions might vary depending on the nature of the thing they’re exposed to and its uniqueness. The more unique a thing is, the more sceptical views it’ll receive. Upon receiving a stimulus, consumers have a tendency to categorise things and to associate them with similar existing concepts in their minds. This is mostly due to decrease the mental effort exerted and increase convenience.

 Since our minds tend to favor convenience, we tend to react positively to things we already know. This is an indicator of what’s known as “The Mere Exposure Theory”, in which humans tend to like the things they’re exposed to the most.

 In marketing, it can work for visual and auditory ads, and it could affect the people subliminally and alter their responses.

This sort of justifies the fact that some brands tend to show you the same ads everywhere and to communicate the same messages all the time to increase conversion rates.  When shopping in stores, some retailers tend to put the most familiar songs in order to evoke positive emotions in the shoppers and to make them buy more and spend a longer time.

“The Mere Exposure Theory” could actually aid in establishing a sense of familiarity which would get translated into trust. It might also reach a higher level and result in building brand advocacy later on. This could be one of the reasons why some brands try not to change their logo or brand identity which allows them to stand out from the rest.

Consumers tend to be at ease with brands they trust and are accustomed to. By initiating a sense of familiarity at every touch-point, brands will be able to establish trust which would allow for building a community of brand advocates on the long term.

Story-telling for a Price

Ever since we were kids, fairy-tales seemed to be our only refuge and escape from reality.  We used to constantly read and listen to stories. To say the least, stories have played a crucial role in our lives since our childhood. Till this very day, stories still affect us tremendously, and this resulted in many companies using them across their various touch points. Marketers seem to have found the best way to exploit and to use them in their marketing efforts.

Based on several studies, stories showed the tendency to resonate with consumers the most. When listening to a story, several parts of the brain are activated. This leads the customers to visualise what they’re being told.

 This has led many advertisers to resort to story-telling in ads and when trying to talk about their products with the customers. Stories are used as an attention-grabbing method since it happens to have a high impact on the consumers. Instead of using a traditional method, advertisers resort to storytelling for consumers tend to relate to it and remember it the most.

Storytelling has also made its way in sales. Sales-people started to talk to the customers about their products in the form of a story. In sales, it’s all about solving the people’s problem and making the customers the heroes of their own stories. To demonstrate this, the salesperson might act up as a sage who offers help to the hero aka the customer in order to solve their problem.

Through stories, marketers have been able to captivate and grab the customers’ attention. They also managed to motivate them and to drive them to take actions and pay a higher premium.

Some customers are willing to pay more for a cup of coffee from Starbucks than for a regular one. However, they would not be paying for the coffee’s quality or the product’s features; but rather, they’re paying for its story. A story which Starbucks constantly communicates whether about its products, its cosy place that feels like home, or about what it should symbolise to you. Such stories of value have merely made products become an extension of our own identity.

Stories help build a special bond and relationship with the customers. They tend to resonate with them the most. By putting a high emphasis on storytelling, it certainly allows for further communication of value.

At the end of the day, are we actually paying for the actual price of the item or for its story?

The Last of Product Placement

When it comes to product placement as mentioned in the previous post, we can’t merely limit it to movies and reality shows. It happens to be present in a lot of places. Recently, video games have become a tool for brands to increase their visibility and exposure.

But, could this underused industry be the new platform for showcasing the brand’s products and making a major impact?

It has been noted that the e-Sports and video gaming market have already outpaced the music and movie industries combined. It is even expected to grow and become a billion-dollar industry, as reported by CNBC.  This also comes hand in hand with the growth of live-streaming apps like Twitch and YouTube channels that are especially made for gamers.

Such platforms should be leveraged in order to get a massive brand exposure especially when some games get millions of live-streaming viewers as the case with Fortnite and League of Legends which happen to be some of the most watched games.

Also, with gamers spending hours and months on their video games, it could be an opportunity for product placements or some marketing efforts.

However, it is important to note that such placements need to be cohesive with the brand and the video game’s story-line as well.

Recently, most of the newest video games are trying to differentiate themselves with their story-lines and narratives. Some are even relying on character building. There are also many brands like Coca-Cola that go an extra mile by creating their own game with all of their logos and symbols.  

All of these scenarios, when implemented right, could provide a new platform where marketers can increase the brand’s familiarity and recall in the minds of the consumers.

Who knows? It might even cause consumers to react subconsciously to such marketing efforts.

Product, Places, ACTION!!

Product Placement or “Embedded Marketing” happens to be a modern type of marketing strategy where brands get to reach their target audience. There are a lot of companies who pay movie or TV program makers to have their products displayed on the show for a certain period of time. It has become very common across TV shows nowadays. It also happens to be present in game shows and reality competitions as well.

But, to what extent does Simon Cowell sipping from a cup of Coke in American Idol has an effect on the consumers? Is product placement really worth all of the millions of dollars spent on it?

The effectiveness of product placement lies in the context of the environment surrounding the products. Such exposure tends to affect the consumers’ perceptions and attitudes towards the brands featured. It might even allow for the consumers to react subconsciously or to enforce the existence of such brands in their consideration sets especially when making purchasing decisions.

Based on research, product placements are not always entirely effective. They certainly do not increase brands’ recall unless they were integrated in a context which happens to make sense and is consistent with their brand.

For example, in American Idol, Coca-Cola’s brand is present everywhere. From the ads shown in commercial breaks to the cups placed in front of the judges, and the couches that look like a bottle of Coca-Cola. Although other brands like Ford also happen to be present in the show, the placement of Coca-Cola’s products seems to be the most effective and the most memorable by the consumers. It even inhibits the recall of different brands from the same category as well.  

Brands should play a key part in the story-line and be fully integrated into the narrative they’re included in so that they do not get lost in the background.

It’s either you make an impact or become part of the noise. It all depends on the consistency of the story-lines and the narratives you embed your brand’s products in. After all, wasn’t it E.T. which tripled the Hershey’s Reese’s Pieces sales and profits?