“It’s not what you say it is. It’s what they say it is.”
- Marty Neumeier
Year after year, companies spend millions to convince you what their brands stand for. The money is spent on endless re-runs on primetime television, out-of-home advertising (OOH) campaigns blanketing entire cities, cover ads in leading dailies and advertising through various other media just to convince you what they want you to think their brand is all about.
Such extensive marketing exercises undoubtedly influence markets and minds, but brands are eventually defined by us and our intuition. What convincingly imprints the brand promise in our minds is the sum total of all our interactions with the brand. An experience inconsistent with the brand’s promise at any stage of interaction with the brand could irrevocably create an unfavourable perception or confusion about what the brand stands for and render the vast resources invested in marketing futile.
Companies across sectors are waking up to the importance of managing consumer emotions at various stages of interaction and are putting themselves in their consumers’ shoes to understand what consumers feel and how the brand experience can be enhanced and fine-tuned to the brand’s promise. Companies are using not only visual branding elements, as was done all these years, but also behavioural and sensory elements to influence consumers. Apple, Nike and closer home, hospitality brands such as Taj and Oberoi are some of the major brands that owe a great deal of their success to customer experience management. Apple’s incomparable service, thoroughly informed retail store employees aka “Geniuses”, the minimal white product packaging and store décor fulfil the simplicity and “it just works” promise of Apple. Oberoi’s initiatives include having a rich signature fragrance at all their properties not only to create an atmosphere of opulence but also a warm familiarity with the brand.
Fizz and funAnother example of a holistic brand approach is the project undertaken by VGC to launch Foster’s in India. When it entered India, Foster’s wanted to extend its global ‘Art of Chilling’ promise through India as well but VGC found that surf boards and beaches wouldn’t work for the Indian market. After research, an ‘Art of Chilling’ interpreted for Indian audiences was developed. Doing away with the surf and sea scenarios, chilling was redefined as meaning different things to different people. As a result, a gang of Foster’s Chillheads was created, each one addressing a unique way of ‘chilling’.
The Chillheads were used to create a ‘relaxed no worries’ image for the brand and were incorporated through several brand touch points such as lounges, liquor stores, point of purchase (POP), social media pages and even bottle caps. In sync with the position, events such as stand-up comedy shows were sponsored and other ‘chilled out’ merchandise such as beanbags and sling bags was also designed for consumers — all of which delivered a single focused brand message and established Foster’s as your buddy and the true master in the art of chilling!
So the next time you are pleasantly surprised by brand representatives, or get a déjà vu feeling of having experienced the brand or just love the packaging paper texture, enjoy the moment — it’s a multimillion dollar brand going all out to live up to its promise to you!