How sincere are brands, really?

What I find incredibly interesting is watching the attitude of brands during an economically challenging period. Recent months have seen media littered with talk of rising interest rates, inflation, global food and fuel crises, rising petrol prices, rising food prices, electricity rate hikes etc. etc. I believe we have only seen the start of a very new way of living or era of consumerism and one that we are certainly not accustomed to and are hence, under-equipped to deal with.

Bearing the brunt of the recession are consumers. While challenged to make purchases that once seemed regular, consumers are faced with companies or brands that are more dependent than ever on their loyalty, while still aiming to meet the objective of every business or brand: to grow and increase or maintain profit margins. The latter becomes a lot more challenging as consumers wisen up to their new financial limitations and are less likely to investigate new brands confidently.

What brands need to do is defend their existing customer base and prioritise the retention of loyal customers over immediate growth. This isn’t always easy and cost-effective, but it is certainly necessary in order to increase trust in a brand and hence commitment to it long-term, through economic instability and until conditions balance out.

I believe that it is imperative that brands take responsibility on behalf of consumers during times like these over goals of short-term growth and profits. However, I do not believe that all brands do.

First, it is evident that retailers are suffering the immediate consequences of an economic recession and continued customer support is necessary for sustainability. However, more aggressively than ever, retailers are attempting to encourage consumers to take out retail credit accounts. While this system allows a way for people to afford certain items by paying the value back over time, it is certainly not encouraging responsible consumer behavior, nor is it instilling any brand values into the minds of consumers that demonstrate care or consideration.

To accentuate this is the fact that a majority of account-holders are likely not in a position to be purchasing goods from the selected retailers, but credit or account systems make consumers feel like they are. Completely contrary to the mission of the Credit Act is this system, which subtly encourages consumers to spend in advance as opposed to helping train them to function the other way: save and then spend. Furthermore, the slight mismanagement of any retail account is monitored and recorded, affecting that person’s ability to make larger and often significant investments in the future. These systems are accelerating credit debt when the aim should be to combat it.

From a branding perspective, this demonstrates brand values that are irresponsible, profit-driven, selfish and uncommitted- essentially counter-values.

The second example I have is regarding one of South Africa’s leading banks. It is obvious that the business has been accelerating its marketing of a scope of products in order to subject existing customers to a larger offering, likely with the aim of customers extending their investment in one brand as opposed to across many. For example, banks offer savings solutions, investments, short-term insurance, life insurance, mortgages and bonds, loans, student facilities, car funding etc. A colleague of mine was contacted by his bank and told that he really should consider applying for a credit card. He said that he is quite happy with the way he spends his money currently and has no need for credit at this stage. The person who called him insisted that a credit card would benefit him because he has proven to be a responsible customer, who has managed his money effectively and responsibly.

We told him to tell the caller that it is irresponsible for a leading bank to be insisting that customers consider offerings related to credit spending during an economic recession. I stick to this and feel that it is a method of securing long-term spending with the bank in the name of profitable sustainability. From a business perspective this seems like a perfectly wise solution, but the brand will ultimately suffer and it will in turn affect the business in the long-term. Acknowledging a customer’s mature money management is a ridiculous way to disguise the blatant sale of credit. If anything, the brand should acknowledge good money management by discouraging consumers to change mature and successful patterns of spending. The brand would be a lot more respected and I wouldn’t have “Inspired to make money and motivated to get it” ringing sardonically in my ear.

It may seem very easy to comment on profit versus values, but I honesty believe that working hard through tough times to really demonstrate a brand’s values and entrench its commitment to customers will result in increased brand loyalty and ultimately more secure long-term sustainability.

Are we up for the challenge?

When brands go bad

Recently MTN held a competition for customers to celebrate their 15th birthday. It seems like a perfect opportunity for a brand to profile itself and reward loyal customers, especially in light of the ridiculously high rates South African consumers are expected to pay for mobile services in relation to the rest of the world.

MTN arguably botched this one up. Customers stood the chance to win a homeloan to the value of R1 million, 14 Toyota Fortuners and plenty other prizes that MTN would give away daily.

In order to win, participants had to answer general knowledge questions. The more questions that were answered correctly, the more points were accumulated, and the more points were promised for answering the next question correctly. Each SMS cost R7.50.

Firstly, to expect a loyal and regularly paying MTN customer to fork out R7,50 for a competition SMS and then encourage them to continue accumulating points through subsequent SMS’s, is not in the spirit of a celebration and certainly no reward for a majority of South Africa’s cell phone users. One could be forgiven for thinking that this entry mechanism had the sole of objective of funding the competition in the first place.

Secondly, according to an IOL news article, The Star newspaper had established that winners seemed to know each other, were friends on Facebook, colleagues or spouses. Rumours surfaced that there was a website where entrants could check their accumulated points and knew exactly how many SMS’s they needed to send in to accumulate enough points to win.

MTN launched an inquiry into this matter and to top this off, independent complaints about the competition resulted in the National Lottery Board investigating and finding the competition illegal.

The competition was closed a month ahead of schedule on the 5th July. This is what MTN had to say: “Whereas this competition generated a lot of excitement and participation, it unfortunately reached a stage where the debate surrounding it was not consistent with the MTN Values and detracted from the intended spirit of the game for our customers.”

Interesting. It is reassuring to know that illegality is not a value of MTN’s, although I still find it immensely disturbing that such a massive brand considers R7,50 for competition SMSs consistent with their values and proceeded with a mechanism for a competition that was so obviously not customer-centric.

I am dying to know exactly what their values are.

MTN, you have disappointed me immensely. This makes it tempting to change to another brand. Realistically, I won’t because of the admin and time associated with a sim swap and change in service provider, and because I do not believe any one network in this country will truly liberate me from paying about 5 times the price of my Indian counterparts (who similarly live in a developing nation).

Sources: IOL News, Bizcommunity.com and News24.com

Acknowledging a legendary brand

In light of Michael Jackson’s death and the overwhelming reaction by people across the globe to this, I believe it would be appropriate to comment on Brand Michael Jackson, specifically looking at what he represented to his “customers” or fans.

Words that epitomise media and public responses to Michael Jackson after his death are: iconic, legendary, extraordinary, talented, transcending, inspiring…the list goes on. On the other hand, there are a number of cynics who will always harp on Jackson’s awkwardness, strange behaviour, controversy and insecurity, but in light of the epic reaction to his sudden death, it seems that brand Michael Jackson was a lot stronger and far less tainted by negative associations than many might have imagined.

If we consider a brand to encompass the accumulation of experiences, encounters and interactions between a product/service and a consumer, Michael Jackson certainly succeeded in creating a plethora of experiences that infiltrated not only peoples’ personal lives, but popular culture as a whole.

Arguably, Michael Jackson’s “product” or “service” was his music and entertainment. (Perhaps it would be more dignified to refer to this as his brand’s reason.) Not only did he completely differentiate his music from other performers at the time, he wholly broke the mould of music and introduced this to people in an exciting, individual and captivating way- a continuous offering of albums, flawless performances, a unique sense of style and his signature moonwalk.

What really solidified the Michael Jackson brand in the minds and souls of consumers was the actual music and individual songs. Not only does well-liked and often revolutionary music have an inclination to live an extended life, but particular songs cling to people’s specific experiences and distinct moments in their lives. I have yet to meet someone who does not recall a certain moment when hearing a certain song or vice versa. Music has the ability to cement moments and feelings into our consciousness and Michael Jackson’s songs did just this.

Lastly, the actual lyrics of his music appealed to a collective consciousness for social change and cohesion. His music coincided with a time when the world needed to review the structures and norms it had established and subsequently realised that there may be undesirable consequences to some of these.

Brand Michael Jackson used music to facilitate hope, change and simultaneously ignite excitement in the prospect of the future. The result is a legacy of encouragement and likely a brand whose underlying values have just been reborn, allowing its iconic nature and positive associations to triumph over the negative.

And the brand is…?

I read about this brand advert yesterday and saw the ad for the first time last night.

24 hours ago I had absolutely no clue what Brother was. I read the press release about this ad and concluded that it must be some inspiration-inducing ad for another financial services company. It had that air of patient achievement- an arguably overplayed theme in financial services’ brand advertising.

The press release sounded like a Barry Ronge movie review, but it certainly got me interested and I was pleasantly surprised when the ad interrupted my religious Survivor viewing.

I paid particular attention to the art direction, epitomised by striking camera angles, dramatic contrasts and the filtered colours that alluded to a romanticised notion of freedom. Indeed, the wakeboarder also provided a seemingly flawless performance in a remote and surreal setting.

Investec? Alan Gray? A bank? Life insurance?

No, Brother Printers that apparently provide a “flawless first impression” just like the wakeboarder, I presume.

I am trying to establish what the thinking was regarding this piece of communication.

The only link I can possibly force myself to make between the product and the advert is that the wake-boarder’s moves were apparently flawless and I presume Brother wants to say that the result of their printers and copiers will be too. Or to quote a colleague, is it the “flawless way the paper enters and exits the Brother machine” (just like the wakeboarder carves the wake) and the perfect colour that defines every printed copy like the colour of the setting in which the wake-boarder finds himself?

How far is a brand willing to go to try and establish a link?

We need to review this in context. First, can a pro wake-boarder be considered analogous to a printer? Second, is there a real and believable connection between a pristine and noticeably secluded natural setting and a printer?

Advert: A talented man wakeboards effortlessly on pure glass- his movements and grace a tribute to himself for mastering nature and to nature for allowing him the playground to do so.

Product: A printer that is made in a factory (which pumps out environment-compromising greenhouse gases) and that gets used in offices with fluorescent lights, office chairs and neutral-toned walls, complimented by the constant drone of air conditioners.

Brand?
Assuming that the brand is the connection between the potential customer and the product, perhaps the brand appeals to an office-worker’s desire to live a natural and free life, devoid of the daily 9- 5 slog and the admin that accompanies it. Or, are all printer/copier customers and printing professionals moved by a poetic metaphor for perfection when all they likely want is a direct guarantee of colour superiority, functionality and convenience inside an office space?

The setting of the advert or “brand’s voice” is so far removed from the functionality and existence of a printer or copier, I truly battle to understand what the brand wants consumers to understand.

The only link that I am left with is perfection. This makes sense if I aspire to all things natural from my printing room or corner in my electrically-illuminated office or if I deem the niche sport or leisure activity of wakeboarding to be appealing to my experience or aspirations.

We’re back to that awkward analogy between nature and wakeboarding versus a printer.

However, it did say something about lasting impressions, in which case if I can’t be shown a realistic portrayal of lasting impressions created by a printer/copier in a printing-appropriate world, an advert of a tropical island or volcanic eruption, the birth of a baby, the sprint of a cheetah or looming tsunami could have sufficed.

Brand Score: 5 (but only because I love nature and love a glass-like body of water)
To access the press release (and a link to the ad): www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/17/37614.html