Episode 2: How Brands Are Changing

In the last few years, digital communications revolution has completely transformed the balance of control. Consumer's voice has become louder and much more public: Consumers can publish their experience of a brand and compare it with the experience of others. The ability of a brand to respond to this can have a profound effect on the way they are perceived. This is also affecting the types of brand that achieve prominence. 
Let's return to Coca-Cola briefly. After 13 years of dominance, in year, 2013 they were knocked off the top spot in Interbrand's influential listing of the leading 100 global brands. The two brands that overtook it were indicative of the way the world has changed.

At number one was Apple, and at number two - Google. Both companies adopted a technological innovation system, but perhaps more importantly, I must state that; this also came to be because both brands are focused on providing products and services that make people's lives easier. Apple's transformation from a computer manufacturer to a media giant didn't happen just because of its introduction of the iPod and iPhone. It happened because they developed revolutionary new services around those products - iTunes and the App Store. They thought very hard about their customer and what would make their life easier. While Google started to develop hardware products its brand is rooted in its incredibly popular search service. In addition, both brands are resolutely customer-focused, and great branding and responsive behaviour allowed them to build the right kinds of connections with their customers to thrive. Although eclipsed by the two technology giants on that particular chart, Coke continues to use its brand influence to create the closer connections with people that today's communications landscape demands. A great example of that is the “Share a Coke” campaign they launched in the summer of 2013, allowing people to buy a bottle of Coke with their name on. WHY DO YOU NEED A BRAND? Branding can help you stand out from your competitors, add value to your offer and engage with your customers.

1. Creating difference:
Branding is a way of clearly highlighting what makes your offer different and more desirable than anyone else. Effective branding elevates a product or organisation from being just one commodity amongst many identical commodities, to become something with a unique character and promise. It can create an emotional resonance in the minds of consumers who choose products and services using both emotional and pragmatic judgements.
Nigerian telecommunications, for example use distinct colours for their brands; this makes them stand out by representing by showcasing their respective core values.

2. Adding value:
People are generally willing to pay more for a branded product than they will for something which is largely unbranded. And a brand can be extended through a whole range of offers too.
Konga, for example, began its “Affiliate Marketing” platform and now sells a wider range of products. This has obviously added value to the business as consumers also see added value in the new services thanks to their existing associations with the Konga brand. Of course, this can work in reverse too: if consumers don’t like the products of a large number of the affiliate marketers, they’re less likely to choose the company’s offer in another product area.

3. Connecting with people;
Creating a connection with people is important for all organisations and a brand can embody attributes which consumers will feel drawn to. Apple’s original launch of the iPod, for example, catapulted the company from computer business to mass-market entertainment brand, with iPod marketing drawing heavily on people’s emotional relationship with their music. By moving into music and film, Apple redefined what the company did and shifted its brand association to something that connects with larger number of people outside computing or creative community. They continued this shift with introduction of the iPhone, iPad and App Store. This brought portable computing and its software into mainstream consumer culture. In doing, so the brand has become more and more entwined on the lives of consumers making it incredibly powerful.

In the next episode, we will discuss: How to communicate, manage and develop your brand identity