Keeping it Real

Authenticity and relevance make the difference for the world’s strongest brands.

The Hub’s second annual “battle of the brands” survey yielded many interesting patterns and valuable insights into some of the world’s greatest brands. After all, the Hub’s readers are a highly involved segment of marketers who think about things like brand identity all day long.

The survey simply pitted a total of 29 brands in a series of one-on-one matchups and asked respondents to decide which one of the two had the stronger identity. While celebrity brands were included to keep things light, it was fun to see parallels between branding products and people, the latter best left to our very distant Hollywood-talent-agent cousins.

Authenticity permeates today’s culture. In the “reality TV” category, American Idol, a show that transforms real everyday people into celebrities, walloped Dancing With The Stars, whose contestants come in as made celebrities. Readers also favored brands staying true to their brand identities. Apple’s 40 percent victory margin over Google in the “innovation” category may be explained by its having a brand identity fully steeped in innovation; from its game-changing product innovations associated with personal creativity to its retail experience and brand communications.

While Google has made inroads on consumer product innovation (YouTube, Android) its brand is still most widely experienced as the dominant search engine and online advertising model, which are less associated with personal creativity than, say, an iPad. In fact, recent press about privacy and anti-trust concerns related to Google’s lack of net neutrality may have adversely impacted its brand identity among survey respondents.

That Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, which is all about authenticity and includes self-esteem programs for girls, was the hands down winner in its social responsibility contest is partially explained by the cohesive fit between these charity programs and Dove’s product category (surely an awareness advantage also helped). The Pepsi Refresh Project, which is funding “refreshing ideas that change the world,” links to Pepsi’s products through the word “refreshing” but other than that seems to be more of an organizational values play than an extension of Pepsi’s young and spirited brand personality.

Ralph Lauren’s 60 percent margin of victory over Tommy Hilfiger is ostensibly due to the latter’s product offering migrating away from its core identity. The Hilfiger brand, conceived as a youthful twist on American classics, became ubiquitous and overexposed after expanding into streetwear, accessories, fragrances, and home decor. The good news for Tommy is that he has been able to course-correct by going back to its preppy basics (the brand recently sold to Phillips-Van Heusen for $3 billion).

If excessive “stretch” can jeopardize brand identity, increasing a brand’s relevance is a surefire way to protect and strengthen it. One way to drive relevance is to extend the core identity from a functional to emotional plane. Take Walmart’s victory in the “mass market” showdown. Walmart used its low price perception as a great foundation upon which to carefully bring elements of values-based marketing into its brand message.

The Save Money. Live Better. brand promise added an emotive element to Walmart’s brand value identity, successfully evolving its connection with shoppers. That said, Microsoft has also made nice progress evolving its brand personality not by defending its dominance over the workplace operating system, but by showing it was also in touch with everyday people.

That the everyday people used in Windows 7 TV spots are portrayed by beautiful models in the flashback sequences depicting their “aha!” moment is a subtle response to Apple’s use of Justin Long and John Hodgman to juxtapose its down-to-earth brand personality versus Microsoft’s supposedly stuffy one.

Shopper Marketing is, of course, another way to strengthen brand identity via relevance by adapting messages to specific shoppers and shopping environments. Survey winners Tide and Dove have done a particularly good job in this regard.

This year’s survey also captured how value-oriented brand identities can thrive during a conservative economy. Target’s value position, much emphasized this year, likely contributed to its victory over Whole Foods. While Merlot’s perception as a less flavorful, wine novice’s choice made it the subject of disparagement in the popular movie Sideways (adversely impacting its sales) its value identity (some of the best California Merlots are under $20) may have resurrected it over Chardonnay, the world’s most popular white wine grape.

Being true to the core brand identity is also relevant here. Some brands are not favorable to a price-value orientation. Despite offering several breakfast pairings at discounted prices, Starbucks did not stand a chance in the fast-food category against McDonald’s, whose own efforts to extend its value-driven identity into premium coffee have been more successful.

For Starbucks, a more relevant approach to value has been to dial up quality, new occasions and customization, as it is with its current VIA Ready Brew and However-You-Want-It-Frappuccino pushes. Similarly, Patagonia, which edged out LL Bean in the “outdoor/lifestyle” category, has had its best two years not by launching new lines or lowering prices, but by staying true to its quality heritage.

Finally, while both detergent and oral categories are recession resistant, Tide’s quality-value identity helped secure its victory over Crest in the P&G showdown and could end up making it a formidable competitor in the dry-cleaning service business (P&G is looking to open franchised dry-cleaning locations in Cleveland and Atlanta).

Brands with considerable awareness in mature categories with little room for innovation may strengthen their identities by repositioning around value. After all, this happens constantly in the world of celebrity, where yesterday’s Academy Award nominated actress is today’s made-for-television-movie star (Winona Ryder, for instance).

All else being equal, brands offering differentiating and meaningful shopping or consumption experiences seemed to fare better in their respective brand battles. Apple’s involved shopping experience strengthens its brand identity. Surely Nike’s landslide victory over Adidas was driven in part by Niketown’s history of retail-tainment and in-store events.

Patagonia’s stores are never in proximity to malls or shopping complexes, which drives destination trips. Store events and demonstrations are very common. The company even leverages social media at the store level, each location with its own Facebook page, expounding not only on store offers and local events, but also lifestyle commentary that fosters a sense of shared values and community.

Finally, while Keith Richards ran uncontested as “rock star” and Elvis emerged victorious over MJ in the “late and great” category, I like my write-in candidate, Jerry Garcia in both categories. After all, The Grateful Dead’s brand-identity is intact 15 years after Jerry’s passing due in part to its experiential consumption model.

The band cultivated a loyal audience relationship with a festival-like environment, encouraged sampling (permitting fans to record concerts), and served up a customized (highly improvisational) product that could adapt to different contexts.

This model undoubtedly contributed to its popularity across age and socioeconomic segments and longevity (what other band has its own satellite radio station and ice cream flavor)?

Given that consumption experience is such a critical factor to reinforcing band — er, brand identity — it’s not surprising that event marketing and in-store sampling have such a strong impact on sales and brand/retailer perception.

Untapped potential exists in experiential’s ability to make stronger brand-building connections and provide a more enduring impact through better branding opportunities and product selling. But this is something we plan to talk about more in the next issue! •

–

WILL MINTON is senior director of innovation for Integrated Marketing Services, specialists in shopper marketing, experiential marketing, shopper-centric custom publications, and field events. He can be reached at wminton -at- thinkintegrated.com.