Are People Actually Brand "Loyal"?
Bain & Co got some panel purchase data from Kantar in the UK. It covered everything from beer to clothes to hotels to jewellery.
And in every category, most people bought from a “repertoire” of brands over the year or so, not just their favorite. You know: a little Cadbury chocolate, but also some Dove, and maybe some Tony’s too. A Coach clutch,but a Burberry one too.
How Valuable is Your “Brand”?
It’s gotta be more than just your revenue, or your market cap. But how do you measure it? Is it $10M or $10B?
Interbrand just released their latest list of the best global brands. Their formula is “financial performance” + “the role the brand plays in purchase decisions” + “the brand’s competitive strength and its ability to create loyalty.” It’s a secret sauce, but it does meet ISO standards.
BrandZ and Brand Finance have their own methods. Jonathan Knowles was kind enough to gather the data for all three.
Overall, they mostly agree on the ranking of the world’s strongest brands. Whew.
But they disagree quite a bit on the dollar values.
What if we're all a little ageist?
Benny Barak gathered studies from 18 countries around the world on how people feel subjectively (their “felt” age) and what they think is the “ideal” age.
Universally, people FEEL about six years younger than they ARE, and they WISH they were another five years younger than they FEEL.
Why Aren't Old People in Your Ads?
I mean, they’re not in almost any ads, outside the obvious ones for medical devices prescription medication.
Do ads have to completely mirror your audience? Of course not.
But adland is stuck in a curiously ageist loop that could be leaving millions — or billions — on the table.
Big Brands Have Higher Loyalty. Again.
One of the oldest laws in marketing is that small brands suffer twice: they have many fewer buyers, AND those buyers buy slightly less often (lower repeat, AKA loyalty, but don’t say loyalty, it’s a terribly messy word that should only be used for pets & sports teams). This is called Double Jeopardy. It’s older than me.
Is Your Brand Easy to Recognize?
A quick & unscientific way to test is to do an online image search of “your brand” or “your brand + your category”. (E.g., “Starbucks”, or “Starbucks coffee”.) Then zooooom out (Ctrl - or Cmd - ).
Check it on its own & against competitors. Can you tell them apart? Is there anything beyond your logo or product that pops? Do you look like everyone else, or are you creating your own distinct look?
What Media Drives Long-Term Sales Best?
Despite rumors of its demise, TV is the king of long-term sales.
What Should You Focus on First: Revenue or Profits?
The main finding? If you can choose, CHOOSE PROFITS FIRST. You’re 2.5X more likely to become a star if you begin from a high-profit-low-growth position than from a high-growth-low-profit position.
Do Heavy Buyers Stay Heavy?
The TL;DR: not so much.
In a classic study,The NPD Group measured the purchase frequencies of 2,261 consumers across 27 brands in both CPG and non-cpg categories. Then they came back a year later to see how much folks were stll buying.
Is Advertising a "Tax for Being Unremarkable"?
If this is true, why is Amazon — clearly a pretty remarkable company, a TECH company, and seemingly ubiquitous — why is it the largest advertiser in the US today, spending $16.9Bn last year on ads?
Funky Taglines Are Good Taglines
Taglines, slogans, & straplines are supposed to be useful devices to help people think of your brand, and maybe even think something particular about your brand.
What Your Media Says About Your Brand
But what about entire swaths of media? If you advertise on TV, does that signal something that advertising on social media doesn't?