Louisebarfield's Blog

As consumers, we’re all publishers, film producers and broadcasters. We’re also fans, friends and followers, through our choice of social network and digital versions of ourselves.

We used to be defined by what we bought and were labelled as such, but it seems the new way of labelling ourselves is through our behaviour. We are what we aggregate towards and stick to, support and rave about.

Fandom is now a currency for brands……in fact the language of marketing is changing across the board. No longer about dark secrets and battleroom strategies, marketers are now trained in the science of empathy, intuition and pattern recognition.

So what is brand fandom? Here are some suggestions:

1. Über Luxury

Über Luxury fandom is all about recognition and discreet social distancing – being allowed into the ‘inner circle’ and becoming invisible to those outside it. It’s also about attracting the right type in the right numbers. The reward beyond purchase is entry into a world of experiences that is difficult to access without the brand as facilitator. The challenge is calibrating the reward to the right customer fan – recognising that the richer the reward of belonging, the greater the loyalty.

2. Purpose

Shared interests relevant to but way beyond just purchase and ownership are the drivers of fandom here – campaigning for change, creating a movement or contributing creative ideas to the brand. The challenge is creating relationships that are relevant to what can be a diverse and demanding fan base. The reward is an active fan base rather than a passive appreciation society. Nike, when operating at its very best, often has this nailed.

3. Counter Culture

Being recognised as belonging to a group who have beliefs and behaviours different to everybody else is the appeal for fans. This moves away from the ‘pack mentality’ of Facebook to a more diverse subculture, where being the same is being different.

4. Heroic

The common denominator for all successful fan brands is that they offer their followers something to believe in. To do this, the brand has to be clear on what its beliefs are. If the founder is still alive and actively involved in the business (Mr Jobs, Mr Branson, Mr Armani), the beliefs have a living embodiment. If the business has moved on, then the more its beliefs have to be clearly articulated – through storytelling, principles and proof they must prove that they are more that marketing puffery.

5. Utility

ExactTarget’s “Subscribers, Fans and Followers” 2010 report showed that people pressed the ‘like’ button on a brand’s Facebook pages for two main reasons – to gain access to offers and to show their friends their personal preferences.

Brands that build loyalty through being useful – or making life easier – have grown a fanbase that is built on trust, convenience or just ‘insider know-how’.

New ground rules

Create advocates, not just fans

The most fan-friendly of brands are like people – social by nature, open minded, share their experiences and own up when they make mistakes. Brands don’t need to be at the centre of the community, but can inform and reinforce the ‘glue’ that bond fans together.

Gaining the true value of customers as fans is a two-way process.

Brands risk alienating their fans if they fundamentally see fandom as just another mass communications channel. Its power is more than crowd control.

To convert customers into fans means being prepared to relinquish some of the traditional controls that brand owners hold dear. It rightly makes some brand owners very nervous. But like so many things in our new, transparent, ‘nothing ever deletes’ world, it requires openness. If you want the reward of having super loyal fans rather than transient customers, you have to be prepared to be brave.

As Tom Peters said, “Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.”

Key take-outs from the Future Luxe conference in London 20-21 Jan 2011
(a Luxury Briefing event)

1. Embracing next-step digital: the tablet / iPad platform offers luxury brands even more intuitive options to ‘play with’ content and really engage with their consumers. Kate Ancketill talked about the opportunities of storytelling and customisation – the technology is already here – to explore ways of enhancing the customer’s personal experience.

2. Do Less, Better: Dana Thomas talked about how premium brands shifted their focus from niche audiences to the ‘ghetto fabulous’ of musicians, highlighted in her book ‘Deluxe’ From the ‘Bulimia’ of mass luxury and the oxymoron of an ‘industry of luxury’ – shouldn’t we be creating something unique and timeless? Even Art has challenged the idea of luxury brands being sacrosanct in French culture – see Tom Sachs ‘Chanel Guillotine’

3. Auto Luxury and the Green Agenda: Gerry McGovern presented the journey of how Land Rover is moving to capture an audience for more ‘urban luxe’ for the brand through the new Evoque – a greener, leaner Range Rover designed for life in the city. He called for a rediscovery of ‘desire’ through design, not just heritage.

4. The new CHAVs Jeffrey Miller explored the dependency of luxury industry on emerging markets (the new Chavs = Chinese Addicted to Vuitton?) and called for a more meaningful exchange of ideas and ‘happiness’ as the next currency of luxury.

5. Friends and Followers Alison Copus of Tripadvisor says we’ll all soon be tracking our friends’ reviews via a new Facebook app – allowing us to connect with reviews from people we know and whose views we may trust more than those of unknown travellers?

6. Detail, not size, matters – Nick Jones’s unpretentious attitude to luxury fits in with how Soho House has redefined the language and design of niche premium hospitality. His view is that the DNA of his brand is more honest and smart than just exclusive, so much so that his Dean Street Townhouse rooms are named ‘Tiny’ rather than the usual ‘Deluxe’ but offer comfort and attention to detail (and value) far above their size.

7. Fast Forward Chris Sanderson and Martin Raymond of the Future Laboratory reminded the conference that looking forward to the next decade, we’ll all need different skills to differentiate brands through ‘magic’ and ‘enchantment’. Luxury business is all about the ‘Leadership Circle’ – influence, not just affluence?

8. New luxe factors? It seems the ultimate in exclusivity and ‘hidden’ luxury is that of being almost invisible – including Glen Donovan’s travel firm, Earth for which you have to be invited as a customer. As more high net worth consumers seek online privacy, against the tide of Facebook et al, perhaps the next thing in luxury is to literally be out of reach?

From the CIPR Internal Comms conference 07.10.10 here are my 4 take-outs:

1. Push and Pull
Nita Clarke said there’s a need for internal communications teams to become the ‘transmission belt’ of the organisation. I see this as more than merely being the ‘hub’ or facilitator – but also the opportunity to filter and edit a two-way flow of conversations. That said, there still needs to be a strong sense of purpose and belief in where the organisation is headed. (see ‘Brand Central’ below)

2. Pattern recognition
You might have the smartest models and the neatest measurement tools, but unless they mean something – it’s all just data. The argument for and against measurement will go on, but like all workplace issues, it’s helped by a bit of human context, showing how attitudinal and behavioural change has had an effect on the business. Just as Euan Semple talked about the ‘big map’ of studying how conversations are happening online, perhaps we need a similar approach to charting how IC is creating ‘hotspots’ within the organisation?
Surely there are better ways than an annual survey?

3. Changing channels
Generational shifts – Gen Y, Millennials and new entrants into organisations – have always been around, but in 2010 it’s the channels themselves that have had the biggest impact. In the real world, we’ve become used to the cross-fire of networks , but many ‘traditional’ companies are not like that. The biggest barrier is not technology – but culture (and fear of digital immigration).

4 Layer Cake
Everyone recognises that it’s all to easy to slice up organisations and focus on delivering to everyone’s separate agenda, with internal commms trying to provide the ‘glue’ to bring teams together under one organisational ‘journey’. But often this results in layers of information (leadership, middle management and teams) each with its own micro system.

To cut through this and provide a sense of meaning – this is where a clearly defined brand can do the job without just being the bi-product of the marketing department. As Lucy Kellaway commented recently, when Apple writes its guide for prospective App Store suppliers, it speaks with the same voice as you’d expect from an organisation that is confident, direct and driven by the best ideas. But this isn’t necessarily ‘brand’ speak, it’s just the way the organisation functions – it’s human.

And, as Rick Lawrence of Heineken said on the day: “If you haven’t got a strong brand, then what ARE you?”

Enough said.

In today’s Financial Times, management guru Tom Peters places Kindness as a key component of success – asserting that ‘he may have gone soft’ and  the way to do business is with decency and sensitivity to others.  As ethical business becomes the norm and the majority of corporations deliver clear reports of their ‘good behaviour’s in CSR and investment in communities – this argument certainly seems to fit.

Or does it really?  But in the tough, competitive world of business where entrepreneurial spirit drives us to outhink and outplay our opponents, have the rules entirely changed?

Fairtrade is one thing – a movement that has successfully normalised ethical business. Courtesy and decency are part of our culture – or surely the learned behaviour of the office – otherwise we’d all be swearing like pirates all day. (Although I’ve worked in creative agencies with teams that were more outlandish than Blackbeard)

But being kind is more of a personality trait than a corporate behaviour, surely?

Dave Trott in his book  ‘Creative Mischief’ says you’ve got to be hard to work in advertising, and that applies to thinking differently to win the pitch. He says  “all advantage is unfair – otherwise it wouldn’t be an advantage”.

Playing fair sounds good on paper, but being kind and ‘nice’ on the surface only works if, like a swan, you can also paddle like mad under the water to really compete and knock the competition out of the water (like a true pirate).

Hilary Clinton started it. Vera Duckworth always did it. P&G are doing it Brazil. Keith Weed of Unilever is actively encouraging it.  Creating conversations – and providing the space where consumers share what’s on their mind – is now becoming the norm for marketers.  It’s never been so easy to eavesdrop, gossip or spread rumours.

Similarly, in retail, the trend for pop-up and temporary outlets is a sign that the idea of taking the product to the consumer (rather than the other way round) is here to stay. Timepoor, app-savvy customers are happy to shop this way.

You could look at this as Ice Cream Van Marketing. Ice cream sellers don’t wait for us to come to visit – they start up the engine and come round to our street. They embody everything we look for in a brand:  mobile, driven by word of mouth, fantastic one-to-one communication and delivered through a small screen. An advertising theme tune that’s instantly recognisable.  Highly personalized service (flake or sprinkles?) and a queue around the block.

As opposed to a similar models (hot dogs, dubious kebabs and those chocolate nut sellers) ice cream van marketing plays to a very British way of celebrating the Summer, being outdoors or simply ‘buying a round’ of a different type to that  in a pub.  It’s sheer convenience, limited edition and everyday indulgence all wrapped up in a familiar service.

Forget your Wispa co-creation Facebook groups or ‘flavour of the season’ Starbucks.  Bring on the Greensleeves chime.

Movement just about sums up what’s going on in brands and marketing.

I remember boating holidays when I was little when, as you returned to dry land after a week afloat, you could still feel the sway of being on board the boat – a strange feeling of instability that lasted for days. That and the relief of not wearing a lifejacket 24/7.

Movement just about sums up what’s going on in brands and marketing. Not only because of the growth of moving image and video as a vital comms channel, but also the development of motion technology in gaming.  At this week’s E3 trade fair gathering in Los Angeles  launches Microsoft’s new Kinect console and Sony’s Move motion system, kinetic gaming adds another dimension to other innovation such as 3D and virtual reality.  Well, at least it gets us off the sofa.

But the other meaning of  movement  – as a group of followers or  likeminded people – reflects the trend towards  being active in another sense. Politically, culturally or just having an opinion – being part of a movement is changing the conversations between users and brands.  It’s so easy to take part in the discussion that it’s infectious and habit forming.  Perhaps it’s because working in marketing is no longer about finding smart ways of selling things but instead about forming common ground between people and exploiting it. Yes, it’s still a cynical business, marketing…..

As the economy rocks backwards and forwards like a drunken sailor from austerity to glimpses of recovery , we all need something to believe in. Whether it’s gadgets, nostalgia or just good old fashioned football, being moved to take part in something is a great chance for brands to join in the conversation, rather than butt in.

Just as the shiny new coalition takes its breath in UK politics, with high hopes of its new parents Cameron and Clegg, the new brand name for the joint-venture of Orange and T-Mobile has been announced: Everything Everywhere TM.

As a corporate brand of the JV’s owners,  Everything Everywhere (or Evie for short?) will not be customer facing, but exist as latent entity, a subtle reminder of the ubiquity and breadth of the combined force of the merger.  It makes sense from a lower cost point of view – but in today’s connected society, where customers  ‘own’ the territory of information and reputation, it may be a mistake to assume that Orange and T-Mobile customers will carry on regardless.  Surely there’s an expectation of more benefits from the merger from the consumers of both brands?  And is it a case of trying to please all the people all the time (Orange is favoured in the UK whereas T-Mobile is a stronger brand in other territories)  rather than asserting a sense of change?

Let’s wait and see how the development of the brands pans out over the next 18 months.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/10107598.stm

When the (volcanic) dust settles on the downturn and we take stock of what’s really changed for brands and marketers, three challenges remain.  These can be summed up as 3G:

Green - as sustainability moves into the mainstream and businesses move beyond ‘greenwash’,  consumers now expect major brands to be transparent on these issues;

Global – brands have had to become more intuitive and balance their consistency with an open-minded, questioning approach to new markets.  This is more than a translation of the brand manual – it’s getting a grasp of cultural, attitudinal and emotional factors to equip international brands with a sense of place and people;

Generational – For established brands, building relationships across different generational groups calls for a different set of strategies and bigger, smart communications ideas. Brands now have to close the loop of the new channels to  ensure they’re talking the same language as their customers – and have the tools they need to listen, not just communicate at, their audiences.

That said, the growth of a more visual communications culture and an ‘always on’ immediacy is no longer just for Generation Y.  Multi-tasking, information heavy, connected, seeking authenticity….we’re all data entrepreneurs now.

To meet the challenges of 3G and beyond, brands face demands on their resources more than ever before, without losing sight of why consumers chose them in the first place. And that comes down to an essential truth, product or smart idea that is grows in the mind of the customer.

We’re surrounded by a flood of online film and video. And, now mobile communications are taking this channel to smaller screens, it seems here to stay.

The sheer accessibility of film and video online is impressive. The opportunity – to engage the viewer for longer, get your story across and create a more ‘human’ conversation – is irresistible.

So what makes the difference between a piece of online film that really hits home and one that’s instantly forgettable?

Some common traps:

1. False pretences

It’s no good trying to pretend to be something you’re not, or use online moving image to put lipstick on a pig. Consumers and business audiences are quick to spot anything fake, shoddy or downright dishonest.

Wal Mart discovered this after positioning themselves as a stylish brand in their Facebook campaign, rather than the discount warriors they actually are, and leaving the ‘wall’ open to posts which resulted in a lot of angry opinions being aired.   US laundry detergent brand All used film to promote its brand through a link with the ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ TV show, but also received negative feedback on their campaign on Youtube

As online film is delivered to an individual’s screen, rather than in a group setting, we soon switch off if the content is patronising, tedious or just missing the point.

2. Past the use-by date

So many companies use film and video on their websites like a kind of filing cabinet – uploading meaningless corporate statements or replicas of their past commercials. This is building an archive – not a communications channel.

Messages that are both true to the brand and expressed through great visual ideas achieve much more – and are quickly shared. Consumer brands have seized the opportunity to create films, around issues such as Sustainability, to share the culture of the organisation and articulate brand values ‘in action’. Some brands do this well.

From Volkswagen’s online initiative to Stella Artois TV which promotes the brand’s green credentials, and Bovril’s new campaign which seeks to improve the British towns and countryside.

Another way to keep the content fresh is to invite comments and feedback on what you post – and listen to your users.

Global brands who understand online video may have a wealth of footage, but with a high quality of output. Honda‘s campaigns such as Difficult is Worth Doing and its Youtube channel are good examples of balancing quality and quantity.

In fact, Honda is so confident of using innovation in its brand messaging, it no longer has to remind its audience that it sells cars, preferring to build its films around expertise and ideas.

3. Get out what you put in

Creating online film and video that captures the spirit (and belief) of a brand calls for intelligent, intuitive ideas that touch a nerve with the audience.

That said, ideas alone can get in the way of the message. We’ve all sat through painful slideshows where the presenter uses all the animation tricks in the book. The same applies to editing and producing film – don’t over complicate it.

You can still be playful, funny and provocative – and start a conversation with your audience – but the best ideas come from an essential truth within the business. Tourism Australia did just this using the launch of the movie Australia as a launch pad for a Destination campaign and, if you want to invest six figure sums, Sony did just this with their Bravia campaign – bouncy balls, paint & playdough bunnies successfully deliver the message of colour & image quality.

However, when you need to get across a critical corporate message at a time of crisis, never reduce your online video to something that’s embarrassingly shabby. When Eurostar apologised to its customers during the recent extreme weather conditions which trapped passengers and delayed services for days on end, locking its CEO in a cupboard looking dishevelled was a mistake.

As in all channels – however ubiquitous – quality wins the day. Recent years have seen clients producing digital campaigns on reduced budgets – but the golden rule is that a campaign which is cheap doesn’t guarantee online success (or, for that matter, commercial results).

To sum up

• Planning is key, so create a long-term strategy
• Think fresh and memorable – not cheap and disposable
• Work with a production team that understands ‘brand’ as well as film
• Craft your message and edit with care
• Invite the audience to comment on what you produce

Key Take-Outs from the Guardian Cleantech Summit 2009

The New Space Race Sustainability is moving from corporate reporting on environmental issues (or “green window dressing”) and CSR into a fully-fledged Cleantech economic cycle fuelled by  technology solutions and investment.

More than ‘land grab’ There’s been a convergence of innovation, investment and behaviour change – but it’s also a question of hard choices: e.g. the Government of Australia faces the tough choice between using scarce water resources for either agriculture or coal mining. On a domestic level, ‘carbon taxes’ may force us to reduce consumption.

Brand as enabler Jeremy Leggett of Solarcentury, said their mission was to be the ‘most admired brand’ in their sector. He said that ‘brand is everything’ – in recruiting their people, building a strong culture within the company and creating brands that articulate the solutions themselves.

Power shift Some speakers spoke of the ‘democratising of energy’ as consumers take control of their own energy usage. Making the ‘invisible visible’ in energy consumption moves the CO2 debate forward – and into a more personal, domestic setting..

Changing the energy retail model – Juliet Davenport, CEO of Green Energy, said that helping consumers to ‘do more by using less’ goes against the principles of traditional utilities companies, who make their profits from higher consumption. But we need to remove the regulatory barriers (e.g. planning) and build a consistent political platform.

Smart Data Demand side management and distribution are potentially next technology hot spots –via smart grids and other new innovations. Expect telecoms companies to earn up to 20% of their future revenue from the data management sector.

The end of ‘success by stealth’ 2010 was described as the ‘end of the beginning’ for Cleantech. The next task is to map out the opportunity for a wider audience – to educate, engage and create better citizens.

Don’t overlook the consumer Without strong consumer demand or ‘will to change’, you have no market. Dr Henri Winand of Intelligent Energy called for Cleantech companies to look beyond the next round of funding and instead focus on the end user audience’s need for hard facts, not misinformation.