People hate brands (but they really don't have to)

September 9, 2010  |  by Tug McTighe

As technology and mobile devices march ever forward, brands out there— the big and the small—are coming under increasing fire. After all, within moments of hearing about something a company or retail brand has done or not done, or experiencing the actions of a brand for yourself, you can tweet, Facebook or comment to a worldwide audience. You can just click and type away on your laptop or mobile device and tell individuals, companies and brands exactly what you think—or in most cases, don’t think—about their products, their service or them.

In this article, we’re going to delve into what people think of brands and how you can positively affect that perception by thinking a bit differently in a few key areas.

Take a recent study done by Trendwatching.com. According to their site:

Back in March, Trendwatching asked people from around the world which brands they loved and which they hated. In a little less than six minutes of video you can watch as people from all walks of life, from all over the world, just simply cut the legs out from under billions of dollars worth of advertising and public relations for many world-famous brands.

Oh sure, Apple got a few positive mentions, but for the most part, nobody can tell you what brands they love. Holy smokes, though, they sure can tell you which ones they hate.

So what does all this mean to brands?
Well, if you take a look at the mobile explosion and the massive numbers of people flocking to social media sites (665 million total on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIN) you start to see a trend. And, when you consider another Trendspotting.com study, you quickly find that by putting forth goodwill in the social media galaxy you may be able to move your brand from the realm of “I’d like to kill them and burn their bodies!” to the world of “You know, I actually don’t hate them.”
 
Again, from Trendspotting.com:

I experienced this desire to connect earlier this year when I was invited to speak at the HOW Design Conference, the United States’ largest yearly gathering of graphic designers. The theme for the event was “Create. Connect. Community.” As Providence would have it, I think this is relevant when brainstorming ways to connect brands with shoppers.

Create. Connect. Community.

CREATE
People love to express themselves, so, as a brand, can you involve your fans in the process? I’m not talking about having them generate your content or asking you to crowdsource your next ad campaign (although, why not?). I’m just telling you to consider ways to get the people who love you to tell others just why they’re so invested. In the past few months, Domino’s Pizza launched a website and promotion asking people to get their friends who haven’t tried the new Domino’s taste to stop “holding out.” Using Facebook and pizzaholdouts.com, you can put a bounty on your friend to tell him how much you like the new recipe.

Domino’s recently reported that profits were up 55% and revenue was up 14.5% for the second quarter. Can you attribute all that to marketing? Probably not. However, I’m certain that the combination of the new recipe and the fact that Domino’s asked their users to help them spread the word are two key factors of the sales uptick.

When you involve people who like you and reward them with special deals and free stuff for spreading the word, then you all win. You take fans and turn them into zealots. This is a win for everybody.

CONNECT
People love things and events and yes, even brands, that bring them together. At the end of the day, as human beings we’re all really just looking for the safety of a tribe we can belong to. Take football fanatics or 10-gallon-hat-wearing cowboys, or Goths, or cyclists, or lumberjacks, or—well, you get the picture. Figure out how your brand can fit into existing tribes like the ones described above. Or better yet, like Apple, figure out a way to create a whole new tribe based on your brand and its assets. For years, Apple has been including logo stickers in every iPod, computer and phone package. People put them on their cars, their backpacks, their bottles and bikes so that Appleheads can identify their fellow tribespeople.

An example of this connectivity from the music business is the jamband genre. Bands like Phish, the Black Crowes and Gov’t Mule have subsisted for decades, largely on the basis of constant touring that has allowed their fans to connect with the bands and with each other. Without radio support. Without video support. These bands (and hundreds of others) have used their live shows and festivals to sustain them, all the while helping them build a community of fans at these events. Which leads us nicely into the last C of this triple whammy.

COMMUNITY
The next step after people have made a connection is to make another connection, and another, etc. Once these connections are made, natural communities start to take shape. How can your brand help facilitate a community for the people who use your service or buy your products? Can you give them a place in your stores or online where they can go and be a part of your greater community? Back in 1995, Angie Hicks made connections with others who were tired of getting the runaround from general contractors so she started a website that provided utility to a group of people and, bang, a community was born. Now, Angieslist.com has a community of more than 1,000,000 consumers who are no longer getting jerked around by contractors and service companies. More recently, she’s even expanded the community to the servicepeople themselves. Once they pass the “Angie test,” they proudly display her “approved by” logo on their cards, trucks and uniforms.

Owned – Earned – Bought.
There’s a really important distinction I think that needs to be made when you are talking about creating, connecting and community. Back in the day, people talked about creating marketing that spread via “word-of-mouth.” Great marketers and their agencies also worked to generate “talk value” for their campaigns, so that the campaign’s actual worth would exceed the media buy.

Today, this has translated to the idea of Owned, Earned and Bought media versus the traditional ideas of Bought, Earned and Owned media. Here’s what I mean: Back when there were only three TV networks, if you put your commercial on one (or all) of them, most of America saw them. Then you worked the phones and the media to get some positive PR chatter. And you know what? It worked.

Today, that’s not possible due to the massive explosion of cable and the Internet. The fragmentation of modern media is so thick you can cut it with a knife. That’s why more and more marketers are spending their dollars on the things they OWN (websites, packaging, fleets, locations). Then they think about how they can connect with their audience through the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, etc. This is EARNED media. Finally, they round out the offering with traditional media – that is, what can be BOUGHT.

When you consider the examples I’ve laid out, you can see that this OEB model is in place for Domino’s, Apple and the jambands. Even though Apple and Domino’s are spending millions on bought media, they are working with what they own and can earn first, then filling out the rest with what they can buy.

If you Google “earned media” you can read tons of stuff about all of this for yourself. I just wanted to make sure the idea was captured here as I feel it is the future for how products and services are going to be marketed.

The Wrap Up
So stop and think about how your brands can create their own worlds, connect with your consumers and with others of like minds and create communities where they can freely share knowledge, ideas and opinions. And think about what you own, then what you can earn, and finally, what you can buy to accomplish these goals. Figure all this stuff out, young grasshopper, and you will truly be the Master.

And your brand just might be hated a little less.