Can your brand tango?

(Or alternate title: Let go of your brand. You were never in control in the first place.)

Behaviour on the web has changed

By now many companies and organisations would agree that the advent of social media has fundamentally changed the way people feel, think, and learn about their brands. It has been a shocking experience for some to hear what people really have to say about their performance, or lack thereof. After all, bad reputation spreads a long way and unhappy “customers” can unleash a lot of havoc. This raises the question, who is truly in CONTROL of your brand?

A decade ago information search ruled the web, but it has now relinquished it's power to social behaviour. What has been brewing in society for a long time, is now becoming more evident. People are increasingly looking to bond with others that share a common passion or interest. Their diverse tribal identities is having a huge impact on defining who they are.

Why? Why? Why?

Consultants will gladly educate companies about the benefits of social media, and also give hands on advice. However they will rarely give any deeper insights about why people do, the things they do, with a brand. Without understanding why people value your brand, then how can you unleash it's full potential? When reasons are given you will find that they are often unsatisfactory and simply re-cycling ancient brand ideas. To put it short. Tools and vocabulary has changed, but it's still the same antiques lying beneath a shiny hood.

It's kind of scary isn't it? We acknowledge that the world has changed, that people are increasingly social and participative, but we still use thinking that stems from the industrial age.

Outdated thinking

The dominating thinking on brands is still “mind share branding” often salted with common wisdom about how we value authentic relationships. Mind share branding, in it's most simplistic form, teaches us that companies can “own” real estate in peoples' brains. This treasured estate consists of the distinct and relevant associations that individuals make with a brand.

You can understand how the idea of brand managers acting as mind surgeons on passive drones made sense in the age of mass communication, but how these ideas get intermingled with the social web of today beats me. These ideas are actually quite demeaning and belittling of people.

From brand associations to brand meaning

While mind-share branding has continued to conquer marketing literature, and become common know-how, deeper understanding about human behaviour has been made through sociology and anthropology. Think about it. It actually makes sense to broaden our influences from psychology to sciences that talk about interaction between humans.

According to these other fields the alternative, or complement if you wish, to brand associations is the construction of meaning. If you proclaim to own the brand associations “cool” and “premium”, what does that mean? Why are those associations meaningful? What does it mean to live in Tuscany and wear a pair of “cool” jeans?

If you don't know what your brand means, then your brand definition is probably too shallow. Understanding meaning is the same as understanding what motivates people to engage with and value your brand. Meaning is important. It is the stuff we are made of. In our time people use brands as raw materials to construct themselves and connect to others.

Building a meaningful brand becomes less about being a mind surgeon, and more about becoming a cultural catalyst or adapter. Rather than owning timeless associations that transcend history and culture, meaning is constantly shifting. What's more is that meaning is not the result of one-sided orchestration, it is co-authored. The company is only one voice, amongst many, that is impacting the meaning of it's brand.

The notion that successful brand managers are in full control of their brand is flawed, because they have never been. Unless their brand was unheard of course. A successful brand is not the result of “owning” or “orchestrating” brand associations, but in inviting people to co-produce value by sharing meaningful stories and experiences.

It's not a shouting contest, it's a dance. Brands that invite people to co-create meaning will find that some of their biggest fans are multipliers of value. Others may find ways to build tribes centred around their brands (AKA brand communities). The advice is basically to relinquish a bit of control to regain it. Keep in mind that your brand is not an end, it is a means that people use to tailor their lives.

Keep dancing.

It takes (at least) two to tango.

Converse starts a cultural factory

Converse is opening a recording studio in Brooklyn where bands can record their music for free. The studio, called Rubber tracks, will be managed by pros and equipped with the latest equipment. Apparently there will be no strings attached as musicians will have full rights of ownership. Converse promises to not influence the music and they are not intended to feature in ads.

So what is in it for Converse? The benefits can only be understood from a brand perspective. While other brands yip-and-yap about their imaginative sale arguments Converse can demonstrate their message through Rubber Tracks. This adds to the treasured authentic dimension of the brand. Their promise to not meddle with the music achieves the same goal.

Converse will be rallying youngsters to their cause as they willingly help to multiply the value of their brand. Rather than simply parasiting on culture, they can potentially contribute to it. In short Converse has set out to create a cultural factory through Rubber Tracks.

 

Digital Clothes - another reason people follow brands

GetSatisfaction recently collaborated with Column Five to create an infographic to answer the question "Why do people follow brands?". According to Mashable the infographic is based on several different studies, and presents the conclusion that 40% of the respondents follow brands on Facebook and Twitter because they want discounts and special deals. The second most common reason indicates that people follow brands because they are current customers. Especially the latter opens up a black box of trailing questions, but there are also other areas that are severely lacking. The infographic left me with a sensation of UnSatisfaction.

The infographic does not include any explanations what-so-ever for the symbolic reasons people follow brands. Without diving too deep into the actual studies I would guess the studies are based on questionnaires. The problems with asking people straight out why they follow brands are that they are either are too unconscious about the symbolic reasons or would not want to admit them. Qualitative research is the remedy.

Besides following brands to win prizes and find discounts, people follow brands to add meaning to their lives, express who they are and connect to others. It would be really interesting if the infographic had included such information, because symbolic values are much harder to copy. The infographic is misleading, because it fails to point brand managers to the real playing field where their brand can stand out.

The brands people follow and share in social media can be seen as digital clothes. On the Internet a like, re-tweet or +1 might be the latest apparel. It might be the next piece in one's identity puzzle, or mark the crossing of a bridge to join a tribe.

This is the naked truth about Facebook and social media. Although few would admit it. In a questionnaire.

Volvo feeds on the Vampire Tribe

Vampire trend

In case you haven't noticed there is a huge vampire trend on the net. This is fuelled amongst others by Summit Entertainment's upcoming motion picture “New Moon”, HBO:s True Blood, the CW:s Vampire Diaries, and now recently... Volvo.

Contrary to common belief vampires are not only for kids, because Neilsen reports that the “New Moon” website is over-indexed among 25 to 34-year olds. They also found that women are over-represented by 44 percent.

HBO's True Blood

True Blood is one of HBO:s flagships and is about vampires that now openly live among humans.
HBO hired Digital Kitchen to create an interesting ad campaign for the second season of True Blood. They hooked up with six major brands, such as Harley Davidson and Gillette to create mock ads targeted for vampires. They also made movie virals that were spread across the net.

According to DK the initial press and PR buzz exceeded their wildest expectations. The premier episode of the second season of True Blood lured more viewers the Sopranos finale two years ago, and it was up 51 percent over last season's finale. 

HBO also runs BloodCopy, a fake blog for vampires.

Summit Entertainment's New Moon

New Moon is the second film in the Twilight series based on novels by Stephenie Meyers and it has a digital initiative of it's own. The movie invaded MySpace a few weeks ago offering free streaming of the soundtrack, video footage, an iPhone app, pre-ordering of tickets and much more. The Twilight Twitter account opened on October the 12^th, but already has over 147 000 users. Mashable predicts that their Twitter account will hit one million followers in record speed, placing it in the top 10.

Volvo

The connection between Volvo and vampires is made through the Twilight series. The lead vampire, Edward Cullen, drove a Volvo C30 in the first film and has upgraded to XC60 in New Moon. Volvo and Stephanie, the author of the novels, let's us know that this unlikely combination was not the result of deal-making. Stephanie consulted her car-crazed brother about the brands her leading characters should drive. Regardless of what you believe the Volvo C30 was given four minutes in the first Twilight movie.

Volvo didn't really “do anything” the first time around, but they are now seizing the moment to  cater to vampire lovers around the world. Linda Gangeri, Volvo's national advertising manager, sees this as an opportunity to get out of the “saftey” strongbox that has defined Volvo for years. She claims that Volvo noted an increased interest for the C30 amongst 20- to-30-year-olds after the first Twilight release.

Volvo's vampire ambitions include ads, social media and interactive games. The microsite WhatDrivesEdward.com is the glue that keeps the campaign together. It let's all vampire fans know that the lead character Edward loves his Volvo's XC60. It invites people to compete for Volvo XC60 by playing a game, where participants are encouraged to work together to answer questions by collecting hidden clues across sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

Prestige Volvo in NJ is going straight for the money as they celebrate a Twilight Madness Celebration Sale during the movie premier weekend.

Volvo is doing some real tribal marketing, but the opportunity more likely stumbled across them than the other way around. It has been amusing to read the bewilderment among traditional marketing sources. Some say that Volvo is targeting tweens, and others girls and their moms. Volvo itself says that they are targeting 20-to-30-year-olds. A definition of the Vampire Tribe that cuts across traditional variables would have served them well.  It will be interesting to see what they come up for the next Twilight film, and if this will give them a savoury taste for more tribaling.

Consumer Centric Brand Management (A review)

 
Those are Grant McCracken's words about Graffman and Söderström's new book “Konsumentnära Varumärkesutveckling” which translates as “Consumer Centric Brand Management”. It is in itself somewhat spectacular that Grant lends his name, and writes the foreward to a book published in Swedish. Yet, this gives you a heads-up that something extraordinary is brewing under the surface.

This is not only an interesting line-up between Graffman - the Dr. anthropologist and Söderström - the senior planner. It is also a great jigsaw puzzle that pieces together many ground-breaking theories in many diverse fields.  It does not only undress traditional theory, but also offers a new holistic approach and methodology for managing consumer centric brands with the aid of commercial ethnography.

The short summary

Companies have been more interested in how brands affect consumers, than the other way around. Consumers use brands in an active quest for meaning, identity and belonging. They develop deep emotional connection with brands that can address these underlying needs, view them as an extension of themselves, and reward them with loyalty.

This is a desirable place to be for all companies and brands, but they lack the methods to do it. Consumer centric brand management offers a new way of managing brands that require broad and deep insights about customers, and their everyday lives. These insights cannot be gained through traditional marketing research, because they provide too shallow insights and historical roots.

Broad insights are holistic, because they take individual, micro, and macro social levels into account. Companies have traditionally been doing a poor job of intently building brands that help people in their identity projects (individual), link people together (micro social), and provide solutions to ideological problems (macro social).

Deep insights strive to understand the customers' underlying needs for meaning, identity, and belonging.

Ethnography and anthropology is essential to gain the required broad and deep insights about customers, which lead to building brands that can operate on more than an individual level. Consumer centric brand management can be applied to all consumer products and services. It's goal is to build authentic brands that become more relevant to customers, increase their engagement and loyalty, in order to motivate higher prices.

Long summary

The challenges we face

Marketers and companies of our time are faced with new challenges such as fragmented markets, generic products and fickle customers. The world is ever changing. Companies and products have shorter life-spans, trends come and go at a higher rate, and institutions have lost their attractive force. People even feel that nations are becoming increasingly unstable and unreliable.

Relying less on legacy, traditions and common practices, people embark on a journey to recompose their social universe and figure out who they are. In this endeavour they value brands as symbolic resources that can help them invent themselves. This is not a solo project, they do it with the help of others, and to be together with others.

Why consumer centric brand development?

 

In the face of globalisation product attributes and benefits are becoming increasingly harder to defend. At the same time customers treasure brands for their symbolic values and experiences. They are driven by needs to construct meaning, identity and belonging. They want to be more participatory in the co-authorship of brands, and value authentic brands that can deliver.

Companies have traditionally been more focused on how brands affect people, than the other way around. Even if they have been conscious about how people use their brands, they have lacked the tools to methodologically build brands that can effectively cater these needs. Consumer centric brand development promises to deliver that, using broad and deep insights about customers.

Broad insights are required to understand customers on a macro, micro and individual level. Deep insights are required to understand customers' underlying needs for constructing meaning, identity and belonging. Ethnography and anthropology are essential for gaining these broad and deep insights.

Broad insights

To gain broad insights companies need to study people on a macro, micro and individual level. People are individuals, but also social and cultural beings that participate in communities (micro social) and society (macro social). Sub-cultures, tribes and brand communities operate on the micro social level. Companies have typically done a poor job of intently building brands that support their customers on micro and macro levels.

The consumer centric approach described in the book outlines how to research and develop strategies for brands to become valuable on all levels. Consumer centric brand development is applicable on any consumer product, but high engagement products have a head start. On the other hand low engagement products have more to gain by becoming more relevant to their customers. This can take them out of the nook of competing using product attributes and benefits which are becoming increasingly harder to defend in a global market.

Deep insights

Conventional marketing research views people as rational individuals trying to fill individual materialistic needs. However people are more complex as they use brands to build meaning, identity and belonging. These underlying needs are often unconscious and emotional, and revealed in a social and cultural context.

Traditional marketing fails, because you cannot outright ask people to describe something they are incapable of. Ethnography and anthropology are essential for understanding underlying motives, which is a key to developing consumer centric brands. Broad and deep insights are gained through qualitative research methods, amongst others using the long interview and participative observation techniques. 

Ethnography and anthropology

The book has a designated chapter that gives an elemental introduction to ethnography and anthropology . It attempts to clean up the mess of wannabe ethnographers, various misconceptions, and shows that ethnography is not about “cool-hunting”. It goes on to briefly touch on tools of the trade. The chapter ends by stating that it is easy to “look like” an ethnographer, but difficult to think like one.

The process

The process involves four stages: 1) orientation, 2) delimitation, 3) deepening, and 4) definition. It involves a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods.

The orientation stage is a broad analysis of the product category, and the brands cultural and political authority. It aims to discover relevant insights about cultural disruptions, counter-culture, tribes and brand communities, and the customers' identity projects.

The delimitation stage narrows and defines these findings and validates them using quantitative methods. The deepening stage makes a deeper analysis using qualitative research methods.

Finally the definition stage defines the brand on an individual, micro and macro level. All brands have different potential to operate on these levels. All brands can cater to individual needs. With a proper strategy and execution they can become a valued resource in their identity projects. Some brands have a good potential to support the link between customers (micro social). A few brands have the potential to become a solution to ideological problems in society (macro social).

My own reflections

I have worked professionally with Jonas Söderström since 1995. We also worked together for many years at Familjen (The Family), a communication agency I co-founded in 99, before moving on to start Tribaling. Therefore it was with great anticipation that I read his and Graffman's new book. It is only fair that you know, and I encourage you to read the book for yourself to make up your own mind.

Graffman and Söderström have done a fantastic job of summing up and connecting the dots between many important theories and practices that I use in my work. We share many sources of inspiration, and it will definately contribute to my Tribaling work.

Folks, this is book is ground-breaking because it pulls all of these great theories together, and draws the best from marketing, ethnography and anthropology. This gives a holistic approach for making brands valuable on all levels (individual, micro and macro). It also offers a viable method for doing it. All consumer brands would benefit from at least considering what this book has to offer.

I personally feel that some parts of the book are highly concentrated juice, and deserve more space to develop. Especially novices to social sciences will be struggling, and should be prepared to dig deeper into all the references supplied. I like the fact that consumer quotes are given throughout the book, demonstrating the powerful connection between marketing and ethnographic insights. This book is in itself a great contribution, especially if translated to English, and I already look forward to what Jonas Söderström and Katarina Graffman can accomplish in the future.

Have you read the book? What do you think? Would you like to see the book translated to English?

Tribes and the Product Life Cycle

The product life cycle (PLC) is a familiar model in marketing and is used to describe the life of a product category. It is a model which can be helpful to understand where a product is now, where it is headed, and what to do about it. That being said, keep in mind that it is just a model and some product categories follow their own cycles.

Most applications of the PLC focus on individuals, but this is discusses it's relevancy for tribes.

Introduction stage

The introduction stage is often focused on one product with limited places of distribution. Competition is often low, but the product suffers from low awareness. Tribes are ideal for product launch, because they run along the outskirts of mainstream culture looking for ways to stand out and feel special.

Learn as much as you can about the tribes you want to support, so that you can natively support their culture. Having a product that can deliver great features is nice, but don't forget to consider your product as a cultural object that can be used to build identity, embody stories, and support rituals. Involve tribal members in your product development program, and listen carefully to their feedback. Consider the tribes you support an extension of your organization. Give them the tools and help they need to act as ambassadors for your product.

Growth stage

The growth stage usually has more competition, and product versions. This naturally leads to more outlets and a race for market share. Tribes that were supported or built during the introduction stage act as advocates for your brand, adding to it's authenticity. If your product is a high engagement brand the tribe can help to lower perceived risk and educate newcomers. Keep in mind that you might be walking a tightrope with your tribes as your customer base grows. If the tribes grow too fast or their culture becomes too commercialized they may rebel.

Maturity stage

The maturity phase usually has even more competition, and full product lines. The price is shifted towards defending market share, and making profit. As low engagement strategies become harder to defend, and easier to copy-cat, thinking about supporting tribes can be a doorway into building a higher engagement brand.

Does your product have a brand community? A brand community is a tribe that gathers around your brand. In that case it is increasingly important to give your brand community special attention that sets them apart, such as VIP treatment, collectors items, and special events.

Decline stage

The decline stage usually implies less of everything. The focus is on maintaining profitability. Common strategies during this phase is to find new uses for your product and new consumers to market to. That should imply new tribes. As your product is in mainstream decline it is becoming increasingly interesting material for tribes. This may open up for tribal re-appropriation of both use and meaning, such as is the case with the rebuilding of retro cars or computers.

I promise more practical examples in upcoming blog posts. For now, I would like to know if you have any questions, or additions?

Your brand is a bridge

 
Why your brand is a bridge
People buy things to bring about change in their lives. They want to get to a better place. Functional solutions are often taken for granted, and the holy grail of our time is identity transformation. This makes sense in a time when people use brands as raw materials to construct their own identity. What this essentially means is that we no longer simply buy things to live as liberated individuals, but to express who we are and belong to others.

Your brand is a bridge, because it helps your customers get to a better place. The gap you are bridging across can be described as identity burdens. This can be understood against the backdrop of collective anxiety, historical changes or tensions in society. The brands which provide meaningful bridges across these challenges have the potential to gain mythic proportions.

How people cross your bridge
People cross your bridge when they interact with your brand. For example when they visit your website, use your services, don your jeans, or sip your soda. On a deeper level they are transforming who they are. Identity transformation is achieved through stories and rituals. When they buy your product they are taking part in a powerful ritual of consumption charged with meanings. When they down your soda they are invoking your story. The ritual itself re-enacts a story that can potentially transform their lives. In this sense consumption is existential, it is about who they are – or more correctly who they become.

Why people cross your bridge
People cross your bridge with the help of others, and to join other people. Identity can be understood on many levels, such as individual, tribal and nationalistic. However the face-to-face level is the most important in the new world of tribalism. Your bridge can be a ticket into communities and tribes. Essentially when people buy and use your brand they can become a part of a tribe.

A bridge example
For example, when I train on a Powerplate I become a part of a smart and healthy tribe, that is consciously time effective (it takes 15 minutes). When I use the product I take part in a powerful ritual that transforms me to a healthier and more effective person. When I train I tap into stories related to NASA, and elite sportsmen. I cross the Powerplate bridge every time I use and share stories about their product.

Crossing the bridge yourself
Thinking of your brand as a bridge will liberate you from the introvert perspectives of “brand personality”, and “brand associations”. It places an emphasis on your customers, their journey and how they use your brand. You see... it's not really about you! (Sorry for being so blunt.) People will build stronger relationships to your brand, if you help them build stronger relationships to people they want to be with (e.g. tribes).

Bridge related questions
What is your brand as a bridge?Where does that bridge lead to? Where does that bridge lead from? What tribes does your brand link people to? What rituals does your brand support? What is the story of your brand?

Tribes Slidecast (6 min Audio)

This is an adaptation of a presentation that I held at the Next Event in Stockholm in October 2009. The presentation is about tribes, identity and community, how that affects your brands and offers a new way to define and reach your customers. It contains the essence of this blog, and many items which will be explored further in future blog posts. Enjoy! Feedback welcome.

Photos jronnestam | Flickr.com

Tribes Slidecast (Audio 6 min)

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Not so Innocent?

Three college guys bought a crate of fruit for £500 and started selling smoothies at a London festival, asking “should we quit our jobs?”. The answer became “YES”, and nine months later they sold their first drinks through their local café. They sold 24 drinks that day, but now – 10 years later – they sell two million drinks in one week.

How did they do it? They successfully built a brand community around their product, and gave their customers something to believe in. They named their smoothie Innocent, because it was natural, healthy and responsible. Being local and privately owned, Innocent played the role of David versus Goliath. They set out to explore sustainable capitalism by donating 10 percent of all profits to charity. Once a year they invite their tribe to Fruit Towers to hang out, try new drinks and eat lot's of cake.

In May 2009 Coca Cola purchased a share of Innocent for £30m. Coca Cola did not only purchase corporate responsibility, but also... a tribe with strong identity, stories and rituals. Now the ritual of sipping an Innocent, will never be the same again. The story of David and Goliath has been altered, and lost it's potency. The powerful identity of the Innocent tribe has been shattered.

To put it short – Coca Cola brings to Innocent everything which it is not. In the realm of the Innocent story, the enemy has invaded.

Innocent's yearly pow-wow “The innocent AGM (A grown-up meeting)” devoted a lot of energy to responding to hard-pressed questions about Coca Cola. Customers shared their disappointment on the Innocent blog, and Twitter. Facebook groups sprouted in protest such as Innocent Smoothies - give back Coca-Cola's dirty money, (Reluctantly) Boycott Innocent Smoothies!, Get Coke out of Innocent Smoothies, Shame on 'Innocent' for selling out to Coca Cola. 

This is what some of their (former) fans are saying:

Mike: "Disgrace but not surprising, you have sold your soul. Thats the last time we buy your products."

Steve: "have you read your Facebok page - its packed full of scrummy yummy customers telling you they feel betrayed."

Michael Boamah: "Coke's entry = the end of the fairytale.NOW welcome in the business world.what a shame"

Coca Cola and Innocent are walking a tight-rope in this tribal identity crisis. The stories and rituals have lost some of their meaning. It is evident that the owners of Innocent ditched their tribal devotees which once helped them become successful.

Innocent supports many tribes ranging from knitting, to ecology, and health. But... can Innocent reliably support these tribes under the wing of Coca Cola? Does the Innocent and Coca Cola story mix?

Was this a smart move by Innocent? How will this play out? Are there any risks involved? What do you think?

Response to Erik

Erik posted some excellent questions in response to my post: Tribal quest for authenticity. They were so good that I decided to reply to them in a separate blog post.

Erik: I enjoy the analogy, but how is this different than the Izod preppy trend of the late 70's, or the gothic fashion movement.

Tribes are more liquid than subcultures. In a subculture identity is unified and fixed. It is seen as static, as members permanently carry one mask. However nowaday people belong to many tribes, and move effortlessly between them. They switch masks, as they assume temporary roles and identities.

Erik: How do you identify tribal leaders?

You can identify tribal leaders through research. Tribal roles can be identified as members, participants, practitioners and sympathisers. You need to understand what motivates each of these groups, and how, when and where they interact with the tribe. Influencing leaders - viral marketing - is far from the only way to support a tribe. (It can be down-right dangerous to "only" operate on the fad-cycle which lasts at best 1-2 years.)

Erik: Are iPhone users a single tribe? I would say they cross a wide spectrum. How would you identify tribal overlaps?

Let's not forget that the concept of tribes help us define a group of people that share a common passion or strong emotion. In reality the boundaries are fluid, and not that evident. Tribes naturally consist of smaller groups of people, which in turn consist of smaller groups of people (sub-tribes).

What is important is that the definition of your tribe is meaningful, and share a set of characteristics. Muniz & O'Guinn characteristics for brand communities are helpful: consciousness of kind, evidence of rituals and traditions, and a sense of obligation to the community and its members.

Erik: What do Doctors and convenience clerks have in common when they both drive a Honda?

Exactly. Their passion for Honda is the common denominator. Not necessarily traditional markers such as age, sex, nationality, and job. These markers are becoming less important as tribes to a larger extent shape our identity.

Erik: The new means of social networking has created new possibilities. Are there any practical ways to manipulate these mediums?

People are people even in social mediums. But in order to understand people we need to need stop treating people as isolated individuals. People share things in social mediums which they find "meaningful". Meaningful needs to be understood in a social context. That is why this is not only "a new way to describe marketing". It is a new way of doing marketing that acknowledges that consumption is driven, not only by individuals, but by groups. Old school marketing leans heavily on psychology, which has a lot to say about the individual. To better understand groups we also need to season our plates with anthropology, sociology and ethnography.

To sum up the largest difference I would say a switch in focus from company/customer relationships to customer/customer relationships.

Yet again, thanks Erik for providing these questions which cut-to-the-chase.