Brand Experience Matters

British Airways have plans to make them smell better

2012-01-29T09:16:00.000-08:00

I hear British Airways are planning to create a fragrance that they spray in their planes [see article in Business 2 Community].

I like this idea.

It makes sense given that the smell of aeroplane chemicals and the body odour of other passengers are not always that pleasant.

Supermarkets have understood the positive power of smell for a long time, although it can attract some media flack [Mailonline]

I think it is a dimension of brand experience that can be very powerful when it evokes positive and fond experiences - think cut grass, burning fireplace, or home cooking.

If British Airways get it right then good luck to them. I guess it is worth a try.

Real-time marketing paths the way to delight consumers

2012-01-21T08:43:00.000-08:00

There is an excellent article in Adpulp: How To Win Big in 2012: Create Exceptional Brand Experiences For Your Clients’ Customers.

The article talks about 'real-time marketing' and how companies have to recognize that change as the new normal.

I totally agree.

The artticle tells a fabulous story about how Porterhouse Steakhouse made real-time one-to-one marketing possible by listening on Twitter. They basically saw a tweet from a fan jokingly asking for a Porterhouse after a hard days travelling (he had just landed at an airport 23 miles away). They responded by sending out a tuxedo-clad waiter to meet him with his requested steak.

As the article says, this is textbook case of 'surprise and delight'.

I love it.

This type of brand behaviour is at the heart of what I mean when I say that to win brands need to surprise / delight / WOW their consumer.

We live in a time where there is huge opportunity to listen (to consumer's social conversations) and respond.

Brand organisations that get this and start to deliver brand experiences like the Porterhouse story will win, because it will drive advocacy and usually loyalty.

5 Experience Enhancers That will Build Competitive Advantage

2012-01-08T09:23:00.000-08:00

There is an excellent article in Forbes written by executives at PricewaterhouseCooper:

"The Key to Customer Loyalty: The Total Shopper Experience."

The article offers excellent advice based on a study by PcWs that is designed to help businesses identify often hidden sources of value that lead to exceptional, differentiating customer experiences.

They recommend developing an experience action plan that’s built on the customer knowledge - extracted from your loyalty program—and that activates the following five “experience enhancers”. These points echo many of the things I have said in my previous posts:

Focus first and foremost on the shopper experience - front line staff are key
Make satisfied customers your brand ambassadors - your customer can be your best advertising
Help consumers avoid risk - remove any psychological hurdles to making a purchase, e.g. shipping costs
Embrace the any-time, anywhere economy - make it easy to search and find you
When something bad happens, fix it - bad news travels fast

They end by saying: "Businesses that understand what their customers value most in the purchasing experience, and that build strong psychological bonds with them, will pull ahead of their rivals and strengthen their customer loyalty."

This is great advice.

Apple, Disney and Google are top experience brands

2011-12-30T11:47:00.000-08:00

I borrowed the idea for this chart from the recently published Best Brand experiences study (Jack Morton).

It highlights the different types of brand experiences that can influence a consumer.

It matches fairly closely the experiences I write about on the path to advocacy:

Notice - discovery experience
Choose - digital experience
Buy - shopping experience
Use - product experience
Loyal - customer experience
Fan - community experience

The key point is that brand organisations need to consider the experiences they are delivering at all touchpoints. They then have to ensure that they are consistent, differentiating and ideally delightful.

That is how brands win consumer loyalty and advocacy.

Check out the study to see why the following brands appear in the top ten

Apple
Disney
Google
Microsoft
Mercedes
Coca-Cola
Sony and IKEA
BMW
Amazon
Louis Vuitton

Also check my previous posts showing which brands win in other similare studies:

Beyond Philosophy: Most admired customer experience - Apple, Amazon and Zappos
Nunwood: Top 100 brand for customer experience (UK) - Amazon, John Lewis and Virgin

British Airways were listening to me..

2011-12-30T10:31:00.000-08:00

I regularly travel with British Airways, and am an executive club member and fan (check out my posted from March 2009).

I was very impresssed by how they recently handled a tweet I wrote about being bumped-off one of their flights.

This is a great example of a smart brand organisation that have a social media startegy, including social listening tools, that can help them respond to customer issues.

Consumers will usually forgive a brand that says 'sorry'.

Full marks to British Airways.

Dominoes app delivers a great take-away

2011-11-27T10:29:00.001-08:00

This iPad app is an obvious but inspired idea from Dominoes Pizzas (the best ideas often are).

The app enables consumers to create their own pizza, win points, be social, etc.

Oh yes, Dominoes will also deliver the pizza you create.

What a great brand experience for the consumer.

What a smart idea that they will tell their friends about.

What a great way to improve operational efficiency (less telephone calls, etc).

Nice one.

Coke ads usually make me smile - that must be a good thing

2011-11-27T10:13:00.001-08:00

This is a nice ad.

It is classic Coke.

Engaging and up-beat.

It makes you feel good about drinking one.

Brand purpose is vital to ensure organisation is in sync

2011-11-21T12:48:00.001-08:00

This is a good post [Jakara Globe] that spells out why it is important to have a clearly defined vision and mission.

This quote says it all:

"One of the most important and often overlooked factors that separate industry-leading iconic brands from the pack is their guiding corporate mission and vision."

If a brand organisation's vision is based on how to value and treat consumers (which most are) it is a recipe for success.

If everyone in a brand organisation knows how they should engage with consumers in a considered and consistent way, particularly if the focus is on delighting them (such as brands like Singapore Airlines, Apple and Zappos) then every brand experience their consumers have is more likely to lead to improved loyalty and potentially advocacy.

A winning force for sustainable sales success.

John Lewis create another sensational Christmas TV ad

2011-11-13T12:16:00.000-08:00

John Lewis have done it again.

I posted 2 years ago about their Christmas TV which I loved.

I think years TV ad is even better.

Time shift viewing is fast becoming a real challenge for brands

2011-10-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

A Guardian article recently pointed out that in UK TV time shift is now 10% of viewing.

This is not a new news.

The media communications industry - and our clients - are very aware of this challenge.

What is new is that distribution is accelerating (Tivo, Sky +, etc) and viewers are fast starting to learn new habits - so things are changing very rapidly.

To be honest, based on my observations (albeit sample size of one) 10% seems small.

In my household on Saturday night we record X factor and, as a family, sit down to watch the programme 15 minutes behind real time. That way we can fast forward through all the ads but still get to the end by the time it is broadcast live.

The recent rugby world cup was another example about how my family viewing habits have changed. Again, we start viewing 15 minutes late so we can fast forward through the annoying ad break just before kick-off and the subsequent half time breaks. That way by the second half we are watching the game in real time.

I think we are at a tipping point and acceleration over the next few years will become even more rapid - particularly with the important younger targets (everyone under 35s).

So, what to do?

TV remains one of the most effective communication channels to deliver mass awareness to attract new customers/acquisitions.

It is therefore becoming even more critical that brand organisations consider how to deliver life beyond conventional TV.

This is where digital come in.

Brand organisations need to review the first to stages of the path to advocacy (notice and choose) - and work out how to deliver persuasive brand experiences using TV content that will have a life in social media beyond paid for advertising.

Great Customer Experience is the Ultimate Brand Experience - Top 100 UK

2011-10-06T12:02:00.000-07:00

Hot on the heals of my last post, about t he most admired customer experience companies in USA, I came across a Marketing Week article this week highlighting the top 100 UK brands for customer experience (survey by Nunwood).

Here is the ranking:

1. Amazon

2. John Lewis

3. Virgin Atlantic

4. Emirates

5. Marks & Spencer

6. M&S Simply Food

=7. Millies Cookies

=7. Greggs

9. Hilton
10. Krispy Kreme

The Marketing Week article then makes an important statement:

"Great customer service is the ultimate brand experience. Consumers on the receiving end of a positive retail experience may spend more than they intend, come back for more and tell their friends."

Absolutely. ..

This is what I go on about all the time.

The success of these brands is clear evidence that building an organisation that is capable of delivering winning brand experiences at every stage of the consumer journey is a winning strategy.

If you are serious about achieving success like these brands than consider the consumer experience at every stage of the Path to Purchase and think how you can WOW them.

Also, check-out the Marketing Week article because it has a number of interesting insights into the actions of some of the top 100 brands.

Here are some examples:

"John Lewis encourages consumers to interact with the brand through well-trained store staff"

"People find that the Richer Sounds staff are concerned about meeting their needs rather than selling the most expensive item"

"Virgin’s staff are generally felt to be fantastic....Virgin has become a customer service case study for other brands aiming to humanise their operations"

"We have found that what people love about Millie’s Cookies is the variety, choice, personalisation and the fact that we don’t come across as a big corporate brand" http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/analysis/features/the-brands-that-run-rings-around-their-rivals/3030720.article

Surprise Surprise...Apple deliver most admired customer experience

2011-09-26T13:03:00.000-07:00

It came as no surprise to me to see that Apple ranked the 'Most admired customer experience' brand based on a recent survey by Beyond Philosophy.

In fact most of the brands ranked in the top ten are of no surprise to me.

Listed below is the top ten. It also shows some of my previous posts that will give you some insight into why they have performed so well in this survey and, as importantly, in terms of sustainable business success.

1. Apple - Apple understand the importance of in-store delivery and delight
2. Amazon - Great experience drive word of mouth
3. Zappos - Zappo win by focusing on WOWing consumers
4. Starbucks - Starbucks coffee launch will cause a stir
5. Tesco - Tesco's neat scan to van app
6. Disney - Apple and Disney deliver some in store magic
7. Virgin Atlantic - Virgin turns problem into PR master stroke
8. Vodafone - no post (yet?)
9. Nordstrom - 4 tips on howto deliver consistent winning brand experiences
10. First Direct - no post (yet?)

If you work in a brand organisation that is looking for ways to outperform your competitors then one effective approach is to review the brand experience your are delivering your consumers and consider how you can improve it. It would be smart use the path to advocacy model and also look closely how the above winning brands deliver.

Those bad boys at Carlsberg know how to party

2011-09-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

I love this ad.

It is surprising.

It is charming.

It is simple.

It delivers a brand experience that is absolutely what Carlsberg is about.

It will get noticed.

A man without a smiling face must not open a shop

2011-09-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

What a great Chinese proverb.

It is spot on and a key part of delivering a great brand experience at the buy stage of the path to purchase. The first moment of truth.

We all know shops we have visited when we had a poor brand experience with the sales person (rude, poor advice, no smile, etc). As a result we may have been put off buying or at least felt less inclined to rush back to buy again.

On the other hand, we have also all had a great interaction with a salesperson. A smile was probably a key part that left you with the feeling of a good buying experience.

It does not take much but can make a big difference.

Retailers know this but don't always have clear values or training in place.

Sure, it takes time and money but if you look at the loyalty and potential advocacy it is worth it [check-out advocacy drives growth paper from LSE].

Kia nail ad will get noticed

2011-09-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

This is a nice ad for the Kia Picanto.

It is getting noticed on You Tube (over 3 million hits) and uses stop motion technique to promote Kia's small is beautiful message.

It delivers a fun, clever and easy to watch brand experience.

I like it.

What kills loyalty?

2011-09-04T02:21:00.000-07:00

In a recent article Business Insider suggested 20 ways to kill loyalty. It admits to appearing negative but does provide a useful perspective - and check-list of what brand organisations have to avoid.

To me they the list is fairly obvious and a little repetitive, that said, the last point: 'a failed promise is a loyalty killer' is the deal breaker.

To be a successful brand you have to deliver the promises you are making (via brand communications). That is how you build loyalty, a key stage on the path to advocacy.

It is also important to remember that there are a number of different types of loyal customers [check-out Inertia, Transactional and Fanatical loyalists article], so for some consumers it is also important to find ways to delight them.

That's how you build brand fans who are likely to advocate you and, as we all know, advocacy is the most powerful form of communication.

Zappos know how to do this. They have a list of core values that everyone working there has to live and breathe. Top of the list is WOW through customer service.

Working out how to do delight/WOW isn't always obvious or easy but when you get it right, like Zappos, you will build a very successful business.

Cadburys plays with Augmented Reality

2011-08-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

To date I have failed to get particularly excited by the Cadburys Spots v stripes campaign.

This gaming idea (recently written about in Brand Republic) based on Augmented Reality looks fun and arguably a clever way to get consumers to engage in a unique brand experience.

Will it get noticed? Possibly. (It depends on the tactical support plan.)

Is it relevant? I guess so.

Will it get talked about? I have no idea but will watch with interest.

St Johns ad turns heads in the cinema

2011-08-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

I came across this is brilliant St Johns Ambulance cinema ad thanks to utalkmarketing.com.

It would have delivered an extremely powerful brand experience.

It reminds me of a British Airways City Break campaign that I worked on at Saatchi & Saatchi many years ago which, like this ad, involved an actress in the cinema audience interacting with the screen.

It is a brilliant and simple idea but will get noticed and talked about.

I love it.

Wrigleys car park ticket trick

2011-08-01T05:58:00.000-07:00

Wrigley's flavoured parking ticket from Gustavo Vieira on Vimeo.

This is a brilliant way for Wrigleys to deliver a brand experience that will surprise and get noticed.

It may even delight and get consumers to talk about it (the brand experience).

This should be the objective for all brands.

ZMOT should be a priority for all brands

2011-07-24T13:47:00.000-07:00

I talk a lot about the first and second moments of truth, however, when it comes to choosing a brand 84% of consumers in US look on-line first - according to Google. They are calling this the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT).

The ZMOT concept is simple. The internet has significantly changed consumer shopping habits. Now they typically start the process of choosing by checking out blogs, consumers opinion websites, social network, competitor sites, etc, before they visit the store

Delivering winning brand experience at the ZMOT is something all brand organisations need to be focusing on.

Kevin Roberts has posted the some excellent nuggets that Lecinski (Google US Sales) has suggested. These are key:

1. Put Someone in Charge. If it’s nobody’s job, it’s not going to get done. You need a ZMOT evangelist, in on every meeting and empowered to do the job.

2. Find Your Zero Moments: Find out exactly how people search for your product. Where do they go? Who do they trust to give them information?

3. Answer the Questions People Are Asking: There’s no point meeting people at ZMOT if you’re not giving them the kind of information they want, as and when they want it.

4. Optimize for ZMOT: Show up more when it counts by making your content super-relevant, and being where you need to be (Lecinski makes the point that having a great mobile presence is a big part of this).

5. Be Fast: Know when something’s making people search for your product, and do something quick to capitalise on it. Speed beats perfection.

In my view there is another thing missing from this list. That is to ensure you WOW existing consumers so they become advocates. This is a vital component because positive social commentary and conversations from delighted consumers will fuel your brand's on-line reputation.

Powerful stuff.

Cool ad from Touchwood

2011-07-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

Docomo - Trees / Forest / Touchwood SH-08C - (2011)

This is a cool ad.

It is fun, engaging and should get noticed.

Tips on how to get mobile right

2011-07-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

Mobile is becoming an increasingly important way for brands to deliver enhanced brand experiences that have the potential to delight consumers.

Technology is getting extremely smart.

Revenues are growing fast (ABI research predict $119bn of goods and services will be bought via mobile by 2115).

Internet Retailing recently published a very useful article for any brand that recognizes the potential of mobile and wants to start using it now. It has a common sense checklist when comparing mobile to on-line.

Here are the highlights:

Screen size - means you have to be sure what content should be served (with on-line 90% of page can be irrelevant).

Load times - mobile is generally slower so you need to think about content and number of steps you get users to take.

Mobile vs tablet – may require parallel sites to take into account differing functionality.

Innovative services – like Augmented reality and location based services are powerful but not always relevant.

Personalization integration –the mobile experience needs to be consistent with that delivered by other brand platforms.

It is worth getting it right because it can be a smart way to deliver brand experiences that will delight consumers and thereby drive loyalty and advocacy.

However, get it wrong and consumers will desert you and may even become detractors who use social media to rapidly spread bad news about your brand.

My advice is simple. Start to test and learn as soon as you can.

Zapposication - the new marketing goal

2011-06-27T14:20:00.000-07:00

I rave about Zappos all the time. [See example post]

It is therefore of no surprise to me to see this recent post by CustomerThink.com, that shows Zappos at the top for customer service:

1. Zappos
2. Expedia
3. Apple (Computers)
4. Acer /Samsung
5. Kindle
6. Discover/ American Express
7. Apple (Smartphones)
8. Fed Ex
9. McDonald’s
10. HP/ Samsung

How do they come top?

Simple...they focus on delighting consumers. They ensure they whole organisation understands the focus by publishing, training and living their core values.

All marketers should take note as winning in marketing in this day and age is not about creating great advertising (although that is important). It is about delivering an overall brand experience that delight. A great customer service is integral to that goal.

Learning about in-store success from luxury brands

2011-06-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

Here are two highly effective ways to build a great in-store brand experience (see Sparxoo article about luxury brand in-store experience).

Make consumers feel comfortable and special.

Sure, this is obvious, but the article highlights two good ways to help deliver this successfully combination:

Personalise tech

“….one innovative way luxury brands are adding a touch of special is through mobile technology. In-store sales people can deliver better service with the aid of mobile devices, such as the iPad. “Mobile devices combine personalization efficiency and effectiveness with an unprecedented touch of caring and nurturing”

Invest in kind human capital

“..the stuffy, know-it-all, sometimes condescending sales associate is certainly a big turn-off for customers at luxury stores. LI takes example of superior customer service from the online retailer, Zappos. Taking a cue from the extremely polite, considerate and genuine customer service reps at Zappos, “putting polite, informed and well-groomed sales personnel on the floor is just the start, but done well it can be a true differentiator”

The iPad idea is fabulous. It seems kinda obvious but I have yet to see any retailer use the ipad to help improve the shopping experience.

Zappos is a brand I love. I have written about them many times because they know ho to WOW consumers with their great approach to customer service.

So, if you are responsible for in-store delivery of brand experience then look into: a) how iPads can be used as a staff tool to delight consumers and b) at Zappos for ideas about creating values that direct staff on how behave in a way that will delight consumers.

Elle Magazine brings Brand Experience to Life

2011-06-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

I just read that Elle are opening a branded spa inside the Eden Roc Renaissance Miami Beach hotel.

This is what I would do if I ran a successful magazine like Elle.

Build an experience that enables readers to engage deeply with and delight in the brand.

It seems in the publishing world a lot of magazines are struggling trying to work out how to survive and thrive in the new always on internet world we now live in.

A few are having success bringing their brands to life on-line.

Others are cutting cost in journalists, cutting costs in product development and as a result losing circulations fast.

Most have forgotten that one sure fire way to win over the hearts and minds of their readers is to deliver a brand experience that brings the brand to life and delights and excites.

This Elle spa look like it will do just that – deliver a winning brand experience - and no doubt make some good incremental revenues.

Others magazines should look at similar ideas.

Have O2 delivered the ultimate brand experience?

2011-05-26T09:33:00.000-07:00

This must have been a fabulous brand experience for this very lucky O2 customer.

Imagine it.

Katie hobbs (random O2 customer) gets a ticket to an exclusive Tinie Tempah concert.

The big night arrives.

Tinie appears on stage.

Shortly after the gig kicks off the floor clears and Katie has her your own one-on-one performance from Tinie.

Wow. As she says, she will never forget it.

I love his idea from those clever people at O2.

They delivered a brand experience that absolutely delighted a customer. That in its own right would not deliver a great return on effort and investment, however, the interest in the story and the number of You Tube hits definitely do a good job presenting O2 as a brand that really knows how to delight it’s customers.

Nice one.

Great experiences drive word of mouth

2011-05-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

Amazon.com: the Hidden Empire

View more presentations from faberNovel

Thank you Gerd Leonhard for pointing me towards this very interesting deck about Amazon.

I have long been an admirer of Jeff Bezos and, as I have posted before, I thought his purchase of Zappos was smart.

This is my favourite quote in this deck (and there are many great quotes, not to mention loads of great tips about how to build an extremely successful digital based business):

"If you do build a great experience, customers will tell each other about that. Word of mouth is powerful."

Absolutely. This is what my Promise Deliver Delight framework is all about. Deliver and delight and consumers are more likely to buy again and tell their friends.

Amazon deliver $34bn revenues annually. Need I say more?

Three Top Packaging Tips

2011-05-07T16:10:00.000-07:00

Brand organisations know that delivering a fabulous in-store brand experience is critical to ensure consumers buy their brand.

Packaging is clearly one of the most important components, given the role it plays at the first moment of truth. I have written about this before.

Retail Customer Experience have just written a useful article covering three ways packaging can improve, impact the retail experience.

Whilst every category and brand has different strategy there are three common packaging considerations that are becoming more essential to ensure the brand deliver a positive in-store experience for consumers.

Here are the article highlights. (These tips seem obvious but I find it surprising that many brands get it wrong.)

1. It needs to stand-out and differentiate

It has to get attention and convey what the brand is all about.

2. It's secure but possible to open with too much hassle

It needs to keep the content secure but not be a nightmare to open.

3. It's sustainable

Consumers care about the environment and don't like it when brands are wasteful.

If consumers notice and like what they see there is a far greater chance they will buy. When a consumer buys a brand and it delivers - and ideally delights - them then the brand will succeed. Packaging is an important part of that equation.

The Role of Enchantment

2011-05-03T12:44:00.000-07:00

I just bought Enchantment - a new book by Guy Kawasaki - in which Guy defines enchantment as the process of delighting people with a product, service, organisation, or idea. The outcome of enchantment is voluntary and long lasting support that is mutually beneficial.

This fits very closely with my thinking.

Enchantment plays a key role because to win brand organisations need to deliver brand experiences that:

Start by making a Promise (via marketing activity).
Then Deliver (the promise).
Then Delight (WOW consumers by exceeding the promise).

Delighting consumers requires focus and resource but will increase loyalty and advocacy - so worth it (see mutually beneficial comment above).

I will read Guy's book with interest.

Nissan force a test drive and deliver a powerful brand experience

2011-04-06T14:49:00.000-07:00

One of the most powerful ways to deliver a compelling brand experience is force potential consumers to use (key stage of Path to Advocacy) the brand.

I came across this idea by Arabian Automobiles (exclusive Nissan distributors in Dubai) at creamglobal.com.

It is very simple.

Block in SUV vehicles with a Nissan Patrol leaving keys and a note encouraging them to move the Nissan.

Once the Nissan starts up a message tells them what is going on and suggests that the driver goes for a spin.

As a result of 7 out of 10 people signed-up for a test drive.

What a great idea that will drive usage and get talked about.

Cebu Pacific deliver a Gaga brand experience

2011-03-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

Airlines are always looking for fun ways to deliver brand experiences that to get noticed.

Check out my previous articles Spanair, Air New Zealand, South West Airlines (twice) and Virgin.

This example from Cebu Pacific airline is one of my favourites.

Apparently they only did this on 2 domestic flights but millions have seen it on You Tube.

A great example of a brand experience that people will talk about.

Nice one.

Brands need to handle social media with care

2011-03-17T12:52:00.000-07:00

I love this. "Google before you Tweet."

It applies to brand organisations as much as people.

When a brand decides to enter the social media conversation they need to be really clear about how they handle themselves.

Mashable wrote a useful article about what you can learn from previous social media blunders.

It includes the following key tip:

"When building a brand, engaging customers, or just communicating with friends, it is vital to remember how quickly even a single update can go viral in social media. People value honesty, being upfront, and listening to others. Employing these principles can prevent social media blunders from turning into lawsuits and PR disasters."

When you get social media right it can be a powerful way deliver brand experiences that WOW consumers. Get it wrong and it can be a disaster.

Fanatical loyalty should be a brands primary goal

2011-03-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

In marketing 'brand loyalty' is often the given primary objective. That is because loyal consumers usually account for the lions share of revenue (check out the Paretto principle).

Wikipedia defines loyalty as: "faithfulness or a devotion to a person, country, group, or cause."

That is fine but it important to remember that there are different types of brand loyalty.

Seth has a good view on loyalty.

As I see it there are broadly three consumer types/behaviours:

Inertia loyalist who can't be bothered to change switch brands - banks benefit from this type of consumer. This applies to any low cost/interest/risk category, like FMCG staples (eg baked beans and pasta), because consumers often buy them on autopilot.

Transaction loyalists who stick to a brand because it is commercially beneficial to them, ie any brand that offers a 'loyalty card' or that gives away coupons/discounts/free stuff.

Fanatical loyalists who just really love a brand. This is the territory of Lovemarks (Loyalty beyond reason). This is the level of loyalty that brands should be striving for because consumers will buy again and again, even if there are better offers.

This is what the path to advocacy is all about. If you can deliver brand experiences that delight consumers they are likely to become fanatical loyalists who buy frequently and tell others about your brand.

It is worth getting it right because when you do you will gain competitive advantage and increased revenues.

Electrolux reaches new heights

2011-03-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

Electrolux are planning to build pop-up restaurants in cool places.

I love the picture of this one.

I last posted about Electrolux (almost 2 years ago) when they had just built a restaurant overlooking Paris. At the time I said I thought it was an idea that would get talked about.

I guess the fact that they are going to do more of these pop-up restaurants means it is having some positive effect. Great.

The Augmented Reality and Mobile Commence Opportunity for Brands

2011-02-19T05:28:00.000-08:00

I last wrote about Augmented Reality (AR) 18 months ago - when it was just a bit of fun. [see post]

Now more brands are starting to work-out how to use AR to deliver engaging brand experiences.

I found an interesting post at iMedia Connection that highlights these good recent examples:

Branding

Streetmuseum from the Museum of London engage users around London in a fun and informative way that is spot on for the brand.

Ben & Jerry’s Moo Vision campaign allows users to unlock a 3D brand experience from carton lids.

Utility.

Ikea had an app for their entire 2010 catalogue but also enabled users to virtually place each piece of furniture in their home.

Word Lens language app translates foreign text in real time.

Product Demos

This is an important area for on-line retailers who can’t provide a tangible experience. There are loads of fashion brands that help users ‘try on’ clothes but The Sampler by Converse is hard to beat.

The trick with all this is to work-out how ‘to close the deal ‘and help consumers move from playing with these AR apps to actually buying.

Mobile commence is about to explode so brands should be focusing on how to test and learn. If they can work-out how to deliver a brand experience via mobile, using apps, AR, etc, that both WOWs the consumer and makes it easy for them to buy - then they will win.

Richard Branson knows the power of a wow brand experience

2011-02-05T14:38:00.000-08:00

When Richard Branson talks about delighting customers, building loyalty and advocacy it is worth paying attention.

There is no doubt he is a brilliant operator. He knows how to turn a negative situation into a positive brand story. [check-out my PR master stroke post]

In a recent article Reuters.com post Branson talks about the importance of a 'chain reaction of team that is consistent from beginning to end'

I totally agree.

If a brand organisation wants to WOW consumers it needs to create a culture that enthuses employees to solve customer service issues and, importantly, empower them to take action without having to follow a rule book or refer up a chain of command. He says:

No company can train its front-end people to handle every situation, but you can strive to create an environment in which they feel at ease "doing as they would be done by."

The Reuters article is definitely worth a read. The two stories he tells would have almost certainly resulted in delighted customers.

Brand experiences like them drive loyalty and advocacy. A sure way to drive sustainable profitability.

Brands must deliver what they promise

2011-01-23T14:55:00.000-08:00

Once again Seth nails it.

He highlights the mistake some brands make when promising one thing in their glossy ads but not delivering. I go on about this all the time.

Check out Seth's recent post:

"..ads like this (that make a bold promise) actually decrease user satisfaction. If the ad leads to expect one thing and we don't get it, we're more disappointed than if we had gone in with no real expectations at all."

Why is this becoming more of a problem than in the 'old days'?

As I have posted before, and as Seth highlights:

"if word of mouth is the real advertising, then what you've done is use old-school ad techniques to actually undercut any chance you have to generate new-school results."

Marketer beware. Social media makes news about broken promises travel fast. [See old Dominoes story]

Marketing people should be focusing greater time and resource on delivering and delighting their consumers. That is how successful brand organisations achieve loyalty, advocacy and business success.

Mary Portas Golden Rules for Retailers - Smile Speak Serve

2011-01-19T14:41:00.000-08:00

Mary Portas is on a mission to transform the appalling service culture of high fashion retailers in the UK.

She has a brilliant programme (on CH4), excellent experience and a no nonsense approach.

It covers loads of themes that are very close to my heart:

Retailers must not drive short term profitability by cutting back on service. [Amazon]
Leadership, culture and training are key to motivating employees. [De Vivre]
Great customer service will feed stand-out and create a sustainable competitive advantage. [John Lewis]
Happy customers will feel good and shop again. [Zappos]

If you are a retailer then watch it as there is plenty of actionable lessons. I strongly recommend that you watch it.

In my view, as I have said before, service is the new brand.

Tesco's neat scan to van app

2011-01-17T12:59:00.000-08:00

There is a great new ad from Tesco [click here for link]

Trust Tesco to come up with this neat app.

It will deliver a win win for Tesco and their customers.

Customer's win: It will make buying easier which will delight their customers.

Tesco wins: It will increase the size of some customers shopping baskets.

It is no wonder that Tesco continue to be the most dominate retailer in the UK.

Spanair converts passengers into fans

2011-01-08T11:38:00.000-08:00

I love this.

A Spanair lands in Las Palmas at around midnight when everyone else is celebrating.
The airline wanted to do something special for their 190 passengers.
The answer...a gift rapped present for each on the luggage carousel.

Did they need to do this...of course not.

Is it a good idea...definitely.

It is exactly the type of brand experience that I love.

On face value it is an expensive activity. However, it is clearly designed to delight consumers with the aim of driving loyalty and advocacy. Moreover, when you take into account that this story will get talked through social media it will more than likely make good commercial sense.

Good one.

If you work for a brand organisation then think about how you can WOW consumers in a way that only your brand can do. That is a great way to build a competitive and sales.

Here are some other examples.

My top ten posts from the last decade

2011-01-01T11:15:00.000-08:00

As we enter into a new decade I've decided to post what I think are the top ten posts from Brand Experience Matters in the last decade.

“Never, in the history of the consumer, have so many known so little about so much” [link]
Actions (of a brand) speak louder than words [link]
CEOs take note (80% of CEOs believes their business offers a superior customer experience – 8% of their customers agree!) [link]
Is it possible for high street stores to win against on-line stores? [link]
Brand organisations must resist pressures from the demands of short-sighted share holders [link]
Winning brands understand the power of emotion [link]
Advocacy must be the focus for the whole brand organisation, not just marketing [link]
Customer experience is the new brand [link]
Importance of culture [link]
Deliver customer service brand experiences that build sales [link]

Enjoy

When you get it right TV delivers a powerful brand experience

2010-12-29T08:54:00.000-08:00

This Kevin Roberts (CEO Saatchi & Saatchi) favourite ad [click here to see his recent post and Fox interview].

A clear demonstration of the power of television and it's ability to deliver a highly emotional brand experience.

It is hard not to be affected by it.

Happy Christmas e-card idea

2010-12-19T02:58:00.000-08:00

Hot on the heels of writing about BMW yesterday, thanks to Paul Flanigan, I came across this clever interactive Christmas card thingy.

I thought it would be a bit of fun. A great brand experience that will encourage a bit of viral (but not quite advocacy)

Here's my version [click here for link].

It is almost an example of the customer becoming the ad agency.

Mobile help brands win in-store

2010-12-19T02:25:00.000-08:00

This short video has some great food for thought around retail and mobile from Andy Murray (CEO Saatch X).

He says that the real retail innovation around mobile is 'on the fringe' in Korea and Japan.

To be clear, these countries are not on the fringe, but the points he makes are extremely interesting.

"In Korea the mobile phone is an integral part of the brand experience let alone the shopper communications and connections"

"In parts of Japan shoppers can scan a packet of meat with their phone and it will show where it came from and a picture of the cow."

As I have said before, mobile is fast becoming an increasingly important part of brand experience, particularly at the buy stage of the path to advocacy.

My advice is to be testing and learning how to execute it now.

BMW experience that will get noticed

2010-12-18T10:35:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting approach by BMW. It is a legitimate form of the famous Coke subliminal advertising.

What better way to deliver a brand experience that will get noticed than to create an 'after image' (on the inside of viewers eyelids) effect of the brand logo during an ad?

As they say in this film...it generates a "more intensive connection with the target."

This is clearly not a experience that is scalable but this film has by 300,000+ hits so it is getting BMW noticed.

Nice one.

Fans drive a brands success

2010-12-04T09:29:00.000-08:00

Mario Vellandi wrote an excellent article about a book by Kate Newlin called Passion Brands.

It sounds like a must read.

One of Kate’s definitions of a Passion Brand is:

"A product that creates such personal enthusiasm that purchasers badge themselves with it through conversation, apparel, continuous repeat purchase."

These are what I refer to as FANS on the path to advocacy.

Marino does a great job apprising the 7 drivers of Passion Brands.

Here they are:

Adopt and Promote a Shared Worldview...a brand identity based on a worldview, rather than a demographic, will attract a larger and more culturally diverse customer base.
Use Design as a Differentiator and Lovemark..think Apple, Porsche, and Flip video cameras
Hire Passionate Employees...are more likely to positively talk about their work and affiliated brands with other people including family, friends, and the growing circle of online acquaintances.
Engage Customers and Become More Personal..understand how ineffective advertising has become.. most brands have to become a little more humanistic and/or personal in all touchpoints to stand out. [and drive advocacy]
Democratize the Brand...allowing folks to customizing the product/service.
Use Backstories and Arcs.. stories describe how such excellence came to be.
Brand the Buzz... stimulates word-of-mouth and sales.

Powerful stuff.

If a brand can create consumers like these it is going to win.

In my view a key is to deliver brand experiences that are personal. The best deliver meaningful emotion through the use of human contact. Get this right and you’ll build a sustainable competitive advantage that is hard to copy.

Mobiles apps are important drivers of brand experience

2010-11-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

MarketingProfs recently blogged about an interesting piece of research by Harris Interactive.

It reveals that mobile is a key part of the brand experience for many (76% of mobile app users say brands should have mobile apps to make shopping or interacting with them easier).

Is this a surprise?

No, not really. However, what is a surprise is that 38% of users say they are not satisfied with most of the apps current available from their favourite brands.

Marketers need to get their act together because mobile is becoming increasingly important and influential.

According to a survey by EffectiveUI 69% of their sample agreed that if a brand’s mobile app isn’t easy to use it contributes to negative perception of the brand.

This is not good.

Let’s look at the facts:

Mobile phone subscriptions will reach five billion this year -- almost one per person on the planet, (source: UN)
People love their mobile phones. A Daily Mail poll last year found that of 4,000 women, 4 in 10 said they would be 'devastated' if they lost their phones.
Mobile ad spending is up 80% in 2010 (source: eMarketer)
Retailers see huge potential to sale stuff via the handsets. A survey by Deloitte at the end of last year found that 1 in 5 shoppers said they intended to use their phones to shop over the holiday season.
Nielsen predict that smart phones will overtake standard phones sales in U.S. by 2011

So, if you are in the business of building brand experiences that deliver and delight consumers with the aim of driving sales and advocacy, make sure your mobile strategy works.

Getting it wrong could be costly - research shows when things go bad with apps, people spread the word (32% of app users say they have told others about a bad experience with a mobile app).

On the other hand, get it right and you could win. The research shows that 66% of app users have downloaded an app based on a review or recommendation, and 57% have recommended an app because of a positive experience.

One last thought

One-third of US wireless subscribers downloaded a mobile app in the third quarter of 2010, up 2.5 percentage points from 30.6% in the prior three months.

Enough said...

Marketing cycle to advocacy

2010-11-08T12:56:00.000-08:00

In the old days marketers used linear funnels to help them plan marketing that aimed to move consumers through the funnel from awareness through various other stages to purchase.

The AIDA model - Attention, Interest, Desire and Action - being one of the most well known.

The power of consumers and the growth of the internet has forced marketers to change their thinking.

Mckinsey's last year started talking about the 'consumer decision journey' and Forrester Research have recently stated talking about the 'customer life cycle'.

Now it's my turn.

Above is my new 'cycle to advocacy'.

It is simply the path to advocacy framework I have been using for the past 2 years, but drawn in a cycle.

The stages are the same and its purpose the same....to provide a framework that enables marketers to work out:

What brand experiences they want to deliver their consumers at each stage
How to get the whole brand organisation (marketing, sales service, etc) to focus on collaborating to delight consumers in a way that gets them to buy again and become brand advocates.

If you are keen improve how your organisation builds brand experiences that will drive sales, loyalty and advocacy I recommend you check-out all three approaches.

Wheat Thins reward a fan and create a great story

2010-11-07T11:28:00.000-08:00

This is a great story.

A Wheat Thins fan posts a comments on Twitter saying: "AAAHHHH I'm outta Wheat thins...mi life is officially over"

Next thing she knows is that the brand delivers a crate full of Wheat Thins to her home.

This is smart brand behaviour on so many levels:

This is a brand that knows how to deliver a brand experience that will delight it's consumers.
This is a brand that has good social listening capabilities.
This is a brand that knows how to create and spread a story - via social media - that will get talked about.
This is a brand that understands the power of advocacy; and that when you delight consumers and create a positive story - it will spread (as evidenced by 500,000+ views on YouTube to date).

That's a good way to build a winning brand.

Nice one.

Does Mcdonalds deliver what they promise?

2010-11-07T02:20:00.000-08:00

Regular readers know I talk a lot about the Promise ~ Deliver ~ Delight frame work; and how it is vital that a brand delivers the promise they make in their communications.

The picture above (posted by three guys heading west) is a typical example of how brands often don’t deliver what they promise.

McDonalds glossy picture of the Big Mac that bears no relationship with reality of what they serve (deliver).

Is that a problem?

In the case of McDonalds and the food category in general it is probably not. That is because consumers have got used to the fact food pictures on glossary ads, menus, recipe cards, etc don’t actually reflect reality. Most people know a little about cooking and what cooked food really looks like.

However, it is a major problem for most other categories.

If a brand makes a promise they must deliver it, otherwise, quite simply, the consumer will not buy again.

The really smart brands take it one step further. They aim to ‘delight’ their consumers - because they know when they do consumers are likely to buy again and maybe even tell their friends about it.

Think about the brand experiences you are currently delivering after purchase and how your organisation can start to deliver brand experiences that will delight.

That’s how you will build a winning brand.

T Mobile make air travellers smile

2010-10-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

Here it is. The latest T-Mobile flash mob.

It was fun to watch and made me smile.

But will it get passed on like their previous films?

T-Mobile flash again

2010-10-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

I blogged last year about the T-Mobile flash mob event at Leicester Square with some enthusiasm.

So it is with interest that I see in the Guardian that they are at it again. This time at Heathrow.

They are building a good reputation in the marketing world for their engaging flash mob events. This one was even observed by some stunned A list celebs. [check story in The Sun]

More importantly, they have got very slick at amplifying it with the consumer and getting their 'Life is for Sharing' message noticed and talked about. A winning brand experience.

I for one will tune into watch the 3 minute version tomorrow night.

Good stuff.

2010-10-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine – Ingrid Murray - recently told me an extraordinary story about a contact she had with Barclaycard after they had sent her a new card.

She telephoned them to activate it and was put through to someone that was seemingly determined to sell her fraud protection insurance.

This is an example of a really bad brand experience.

When a consumer telephones to activate their card the last thing expected is a heavy sell, particularly when it is for something that isn’t needed. Credit cards typically offer free fraud protection. Here is what Barclaycard have to say on their website:

"As long as you tell us the moment you spot something you think is fraudulent on your account, and you've done everything you can to prevent fraud (like not telling anyone your PIN), you won't be liable for fraudulent use of your card”

I, like most people, hate it when this type of thing happens. It is very obviously a ruse to make more money.

It is a major mistake by Barclaycard.

When a consumers makes contact them they should focus instead on delivering a positive brand experience that delights; this is far more likely to result in longer term sales results.

When brand organisations say “sorry” it can be extremely powerful

2010-10-17T09:16:00.000-07:00

I hate it when dealing with a brand organisation when they don’t say sorry if it clearly is the appropriate action. Instead they usually focus on protecting themselves...often it is the customer service people who regard it as a personal duel and an opportunity to prove how clever they are....

This is short-sighted and wrong.

They overlook the fact that consumers are far more likely to change their mind, view your brand positively and maybe even tell their friends (advocacy is a very powerful force) if it says ‘sorry.’

While on face value it might cost a little bit of money it is a great strategy to differentiate vs competitors.

The blogsphere is littered with stories where brands have got it wrong and suffered - see examples on a previous posting about Dell, Apple and Comcast.

I was very interested to see an article on Inc.co about recent research undertaken by the Nottingham school of Economics.

They asked hacked-off eBay customers whether they would prefer some sort of monetary compensation or a simple apology....the overwhelming response was a preference for a straight apology. (Check-out the report.)

Richard Branson understands the power of an apology. There is a great story about how he handled a letter of complaint.

It isn’t rocket science or difficult. It just requires a change in attitude and culture.

If you work at brand organisation I suggest you look closely at the brand experience your customer service department is delivering and work out how to improve it...saying sorry occasionally. It will potentially be more effective than most other forms of brand communication.

A pleased customer is our best advertisement

2010-10-10T13:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend Faris for bringing this old ad to my attention.

As he say's, it is far more relevant today than the time that it was originally written.

Jeff Jarvis - in his book 'What would Google Do?' - sums it up well when he says: "your customer is your best ad agency".

Why?

A happy consumer is extremely valuable because they can tell their friends about you. When people talk to their friends in a positive way about your brand then that it's more powerful than any ad.

The internet has changed the game when it comes to talking positively about because social media is like word of mouth on steroids. Word spreads fast on-line (see Dominoes story)

If you are a smart brand marketer you will focus on delivering brand experiences that delight so that your consumers talk positively about it. The even smarter ones listen carefully to what is going on on-line and amplify anything positive that is being said.

Here's a good example.

I blogged last year about a fantastic holiday I had in Nikoi Island (see post).

They spotted my post (smart listening skills) and commented on it, offering me a couple of free cocktails on my next visit. They then linked my blog to their site which has resulted in loads of people clicking on my story, I assume before they commit to making a booking.

Later that year I won 'best blog about Nikoi Island.' The prize was 2 free days on the island.

The 'advertising' value they have had from me (on and off line) must have delivered them an excellent return on investment.

Take note. Think how you can delight consumers. It is worth it.

Customer experience is the new brand

2010-10-02T11:57:00.000-07:00

I found a great article at Stage Two that quotes Dustin Hoffman...

“Customer experience is the new brand.”

“I’m not referring to a brand as a logo and a typeface. I’m referring to the new kind of brand; the one is formed by the entire experience of a customer’s interaction. That experience gets branded into his or her memory and leaks into the buzz of modern culture. If you can’t make a good customer experience from start to finish, you’ve failed to generate brand value that will attract customers to come back for repeat business and tell their friends to come back, too. That’s how good customer experience directly affects the bottom line.”

It echoes precisely my view on the importance of delivering a winning brand experience and the affect it has on loyalty, advocacy and the bottom line.

I LOVE IT.

I strongly recommend you take note... and if you want to build a better brand experience for your consumers start by looking at the path to advocacy shown above and work-out how your brand can improve delivery at all stages.

Kitchenaid delivers winning usage experience

2010-09-25T03:03:00.000-07:00

There is a great story from Hayley’s Dilling about her recent purchase of a Kitchenaid electric hand mixer and how in the instruction manual there were a dozen recipes that involved the mixer.

This is a brilliant example of how to enhance the consumers brand experience usage; the second moment of truth and a key stage of the path to advocacy.

The Kitchenaid example works because:

It helps the consumer get the most out of the brand
It makes her feel good about it
It gives her a positive story to tell others about it (social media is like word of mouth on steroids which helps make this story spread)

The result should be improved sales, as loyalty and advocacy drives consumer acquisition.

Hayley goes on to point-out that marketers usually spend all their time and resource on acquiring new consumers (the brand promise stage), rather than taking care of consumers they already have.

If you are serious about driving brand sales then think about the brand experience at all stage of the path to purchase and not just acquisition. Check out my tips about the use stage.

Brands must get packaging right to get noticed, bought and loved

2010-09-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

This recent report - by Business Insights - looks like a 'must read' for any brand that wants to win in store (the first moment of truth). Errhh I think that is all brands!

I write a lot about the importance of packaging. Most marketers know it is key.

This report highlights some vital things to take note of if you are not spending sufficient time on packaging - to make sure it is consistent with the brand experience you promise (in the advertising), or, us they say in their overview:

(one of the benefits of the report includes) ...understand how packaging design contributes to the aesthetics and emotion of brand identity.
(one of the key findings of the report)....design for brand enhancement demands consideration of brand communication, consumer needs, the context in which the product is sold, category norms, brand guidelines and constraints, potential pack structure or format and surface design. Packaging is one part of the marketing mix. Examining the global superbrands demonstrates how packaging is an integral part of branding and enhances the brand experience.

Packaging is too important to leave to chance. Get it right and, at the very least, you will stand-out versus competitors and increase your chances of being noticed. However, the real win comes if you make it stunning and delight consumers when they see and use it.

Get it right and they are likely to reward you with greater loyalty and possibly advocacy.

Get it wrong and your brand may not get noticed. If it really disappoints they will probably not buy again [see previous post].

It is definitely worth investing good amounts of time and resource on it.

Tipp ex video becomes highest viewing film on Youtube?

2010-09-11T02:29:00.000-07:00

This brilliant video is currently getting a lot of views.

It will cleverly get Tipp ex noticed by millions of people.

Not only that, it is highly effective at communicating a brand message because it is relevant, original and interactive, thereby engaging consumers in what is a low interest category.

While it is a challenge to get the balance right when trying to create a contagious viral ad maybe they could have put a bit more brand into the story.

That said, it delivers a great brand experience.

Good stuff.

Air New Zealand's winning safety video

2010-08-25T22:01:00.001-07:00

I seem to blog a lot about airlines. Probably because in the airline category, perhaps more than any other, brand experience is critical to business success.

Anyway, my mate Antony Young bought to my attention this fabulous Air New Zealand safety video.

I love it. It works on so many levels:

It successfully gets the key safety messages across in an original way.
It fully leverages Air New Zealand's 'fanatical' sponsorship of the All Blacks.
It is a fun and engaging film that flyers will pay attention to.
Social media will mean it will have a life beyond the cabin (it has already had 164,000 views on YouTube).
It will enhance the positive brand experience that Air New Zealand seek to deliver day in day out their consumers.

Great stuff.

Untangling brands and experiences

2010-08-22T22:45:00.000-07:00

Untangling brand and customer experience, in 10 minutes or less from Brandon Schauer on Vimeo.

I came across this fabulous 9 minute video on Jay Steele's blog.

It is really helpful for anyone, like me, who is interested in working out how brand organisations should go about building an operation that consistently delivers it's consumers with winning brand experiences.

This video goes some way to help untangle different aspects of brand experience stuff like: brand promise, brand messaging, customer experience, advertising, role of employees, etc.

Why is brand experience important? Because when they get it right it ultimately drives loyalty, advocacy and therefore long-term sustainable profitably.

If that interests you (which it should!) it is worth investing a little time looking at the video.

Then have a look at my Path to Advocacy model and think about how you should be focusing effort not just on traditional marketing but on delivering experience on every touchpoint that delight consumers

RAC drive-in idea will do good things for the brand

2010-07-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

In August the RAC are launching drive-in movies in two UK locations (check-out their site for details).

Okay, it's not a new idea but I think it's a really smart strategic fit for them.

It will deliver a pleasurable in car brand experience that rewards existing members and attracts potential members.

It builds some positive and interesting news around an otherwise low interest category.

Rewarding existing users, attracting new users and driving positive advocacy will do good things for the RAC brand.

Neat.

Good luck with the weather.

P&G seem to have created a social media winner

2010-07-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

I am really enjoying this Old Spice campaign.

It has started to take-up a life of it's own..and so far it seems to be really working. It is getting noticed.

There is an interesting post by Influential Marketing Blog that suggests the following success formula:

Simple smart strategy that talks directly to women
Creative execution using appropriate personality
Personal investment - the ad agency team apparently love the campaign and have been very active about it on-line

It is also getting some excellent spoofs.

Great stuff.

Delighting consumers is the key to business success

2010-07-20T14:17:00.000-07:00

I talk a lot about the power of delighting consumers.

I believe if a brand can deliver a brand experience that over-delivers and delights - the consumer is more likely to buy again and may be even talk about your brand. (Many studies demonstrate that word of mouth is one of the most influential touchpoints).

Seth recently wrote an interesting blog about the paradox of promise in an age of word of mouth.

It is worth a read and he references a really useful MBA chart (above).

It is challenging but simple.

Brands need to be really smart about the promise they make and, when it comes to advertising, they must only talk about what their brand will deliver.

Then they must ensure the deliver what you promise every time.

Failure to do so will, at best, stop consumers buying again and, at worst, make them angry. Angry consumers can create a serious headache given that social media is like word of mouth on steroids (an excellent quote from the popular ‘What The F**k is Social Media’ slideshare presentation). Check out my previous article about United, Dell and Comcast

The best brands deliver every time and also work out how to delight.

This is not easy but it is worth the effort.

A good start point is to assemble all the key stakeholders who are involved in delivering brand experiences across the whole path to advocacy.

Align on a definition the brand experience you can deliver consistently.

Then ensure the organisation is in-sync and focused on delivering it.

This is what winning brand organisations do time and time again. [Think Apple, Zappos, Virgin]

Top ten tatts

2010-07-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

Kevin Roberts wrote a great piece on his blog recently about tattoos and how some people are so committed to a brand they will get a tattoo.

Wow. This is really is ‘loyalty beyond reason’ (one of ways he describes Lovemark brands).

The article also mentions a book called Brand Sense, written by Martin Lindstrom , that explored the brand-tattoo phenomenon and that shares results of a survey asking which brands people would most want to have tattooed on their arm.

These are the top ten brands:

Harley Davidson (18.9%)
Disney (14.8%)
Coke (7.7%)
Google (6.6%)
Pepsi (6.1%)
Rolex (5.6%)
Nike (4.6%)
Adidas (3.1%)
Absolut (2.6%)
Nintendo (1.5%)

They are all fabulous brands. They are successful because they have invested in consistently delivering great brand experiences that delight consumers.

Nice one.

4 tips on how to deliver consistent winning brand experiences

2010-07-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

I came across some really good advice on how to deliver consistent brand experiences – check-out full article swbratcher.com.

These are the four steps:

Provide service channel options relevent to your consumers’ profile. Eg Baby Bloomers like the human touch but Generation Y are used to interactive channels and expect instant gratification.
Choose authentic rather than WOW experiences. [Think Zappos.com.]
Measure your brand experience from the customers’ perspective , not from an operational efficiency perspective.
Engage your customer facing employees as happy, proud and empowered employees make happy customers. Apparently Nordstrom have a great approach - “Hire the smile; train the skill.”

Great stuff.

Wow - this ad that will get noticed

2010-06-30T14:46:00.000-07:00

I love this.

It is simple.

It is engaging.

It is topical.

It will work.

Brands organisations must resist pressures from the demands of short-sighted share-holders

2010-06-25T16:14:00.000-07:00

This is a great article by Customer Think about Tony Heish’s (CEO Zappos) decision to sell to Amazon.

It cuts to the heart of what this blog is all about.

Heish faced a dilemma that all CEOs face:

Either; bow to short-term share holder financial pressure...
Or; maintain Zappo’s commitment (and investment) to delivering brand experiences that delight consumers.

Zappo’s has a great reputation. [See my previous posting about their commitment to a culture and values that focused on WOWing consumers’ through service.]

To protect Zappo’s hard earned reputation Heish sold to Amazon [Another great brand experience organisation.]

It was really smart move.

The article quotes Heish’s rationale:

“...Some board members had always viewed our company culture as a pet project — “Tony’s social experiments,” they called it. I disagreed. I believe that getting the culture right is the most important thing a company can do. But the board took the conventional view — namely, that a business should focus on profitability first and then use the profits to do nice things for its employees.

... (I thought) better service would translate into lots of repeat customers, which would mean low marketing expenses, long-term profits, and fast growth.”

I totally agree.

It is simple. Delight your consumer and they will reward you with long-term loyalty, advocacy and more sells.

Zappo’s net sales were up almost 50 percent in first quarter of 2010...evidence that Heish got it right.

If you work at a brand organisation it would be really good idea to look at how you are delivering brand experiences across the path to advocacy and see how you can replicate Zappo’s success.

BMW stunt in Singapore

2010-06-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

I came across this film about a BMW media stunt in Singapore thanks to Truly Deeply.

It is a good example of how a media innovation and some creative messaging will get noticed and can even get talked about (in this case on-line).

I am not generally a fan of stunts but I think this one works.

It delivers a brand experience that will make people smile, it is probably 'on strategy' but I don't think it will make people choose to buy BMW.

Enjoy.