Branding Strategy Insider

Did You Know? - May 21

•    It costs 7 times more to get a new consumer for the brand than it does to get a current consumer to make an incremental purchase.

•    In some sectors, an increase in the consumer base by just one percent is otherwise equivalent to a 10 percent cost reduction.

•    Depending on the category, a 5% increase in customer loyalty will lift the lifetime profits per customer by up to 95%.

•    Increasingly, brands are shifting their focus from penetration to usage.  Greater success comes from getting a larger portion of a smaller segment’s business (versus getting more consumers to buy your brand).  This can be accomplished in many ways, including offering more and different products and services that deliver against your brand’s promise.

Sponsored By: Brand Aid

Did You Know? - December 29

Well-known brands activate positive emotional responses in our brains. -- Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study areas of the brain affected by visual stimuli associated with strong and weak brands. -- "Brain branding" is an interdisciplinary approach to improve understanding of how the mind perceives and processes brands.

Source: Radiological Society of North America

Sponsored By: Brand Aid

Did You Know? - September 15th

•    There is a direct correlation between advertising spending, brand awareness, and market share (given that the brand’s distribution is equal to that of other brands in the category and consumers like the brand’s point of difference).  In fact, James Gregory and the Corporate Branding Partnership (and others) have linked advertising spending with increases in sales, earnings, market share, and stock price.

•    A brand’s perceived quality increases with increases in advertising impressions, regardless of message.

Sponsored By: Marketers Seeking Employment

Did You Know? - September 8th

In his white paper, “Communication as Value Builder,” Dr. David Jensen, Senior Vice President with Ketchum in Atlanta, cites a 1998 study by the Wirthlin Group, which concludes that:

• “Companies with good reputations are 7 times more likely to command premium prices for their products and services.
• 5 times more likely to have their stock recommended
• 4 times more likely to be recommended as a good place to work
• 3 times more likely to be recommended as a joint venture partner
• 1.5 times more likely to receive the benefit of the doubt.”

Sponsored By: Brand Aid

Did You Know? - August 5th

Regarding customer loyalty, what should newer, faster growing brands focus on as an indicator of brand health and what should more established brands watch for as an indicator of brand health?

Newer, faster growing brands should focus on the number of new loyal customers, while more established brands should track the number of lost loyal customers.

Sponsored By: Brand Aid

Did You Know? July - 21st

Did you know that through carefully researched consumer insight, John Deere was able to significantly increase sales of its lawn tractors? Most men really admired the brand but believed that it was “too much for them.” They could never justify buying it for themselves. Here’s the insight. When their wives were made aware that 8 out of 10 men would prefer a John Deere lawn tractor if given the option, sales significantly increased. The way in was through the gift giver.

Source: Barry Krause, President of Publicis & Hal Riney Chicago in his presentation “Advertising Agency’s View on Corporate Branding” at the American Management Association’s “Corporate Branding: Leveraging Your Company’s Key Intangible Asset” conference in San Francisco on February 24, 1999.

Sponsored By: Brand Aid

Did You Know? July - 14th

• “Purchase intent” tends to be inflated for declining brands and understated for emerging brands.

• Advertising is often most effective in increasing share of market when brands are so similar that the advertising message is the primary source of differentiation.

(Source: Ehrenberg, John, Neil Barnard and John Scriven, “Differentiation or Salience.” Journal of Advertising Research November December 1997, p.12.)

Sponsored By: Brand Aid

Did You Know? - May 21st

The memory of images decays less rapidly than the memory of words.  The implication is that pictures are often more effective than words.  The more effective option is “dual coding” or the use of visual and verbal cues together.  The most effective option is when the visual and verbal cues are designed to say the same thing, or when they are completely redundant.

Other aids to memory include:

·Communicating the most important points first and last in the overall communication

·Repeating a key point again and again in a communication

·Presenting the key point in a catchy song, phrase, or slogan that the customer will repeat over and over again in his or her memory

·Presenting the communication in the atmosphere, environment, or mood in which you intend the customer to recall the communication

Sound remains in our short-term memory over 5 times longer than images do.  That is why sound is an even better aid to memory. (Source: Williams, Roy H., Secret Formulas of the Wizards of Ads, Bard Press 1999, p. 93.) 

Scent, however, is one of the best aids to memory.  Cinnabon has figured this out, as you would know if you’ve shopped malls in which their stores are located.

Did You Know? - May 11th

Allstate, in its brand identity project, was able to achieve significant cost savings by standardizing 278 different Thank You note formats to one format.

Source: Jody Mack, Senior Corporate Identity Manager, Allstate

Did You Know? - March 29th

We are regularly on the speaking circuit. After recent trips speaking at brand conferences throughout the world we collected these interesting insights:

•At one conference, Daryl Travis, CEO, Brandtrust, talked about sensory cues that either reinforce or detract from a brand's positioning. For instance, Loyola University Medical Center discovered that sick looking plants in the hospital caused patients to wonder if the hospital could really keep people well.

•One marketer at a brand conference in Moscow asked this question:

"How important is brand loyalty and can one develop brand loyalty in a rapidly expanding market with rapidly expanding choices in which people are eager to try every new product?"

(In mature markets, the following customer segments often emerge: brand loyal, price conscious, convenience oriented and consumers who enjoy seeking out new brands and products within the category.)

•In brand equity research, it is very important that a respondent says "the brand is for me" or "the brand is for everyone" and not "the brand is for someone else."

(In its research, one brand discovered that it was for "someone older." Even 60, 70, 80 and 90 year olds answered in this way. Dead people don't buy many products.)