Know-How Exchange : Branding

Dear Justbloggin,

Oh, the power of the human mind and how easy it is to hoodwink (whoops! I mean, "convince") people into thinking they've seen something when they haven't.

Several years ago, there was an experiment in which TV viewers were asked to recall the TV ads they'd seen during the half time break in a Super bowl game.

People were asked to give marks to a predetermined set of commercials for all kinds of different products. The problem was that not one of the ads on the check lists had been shown during that break!

So herein lies your problem and the primary thing to be wary of: the brain's ability to be misled. But one thing troubles me. Your point about "consumer sentiment and actual delivery".

Would that be the delivery ability of "the brand"? Or delivery of the product? Because if it's the former, er, well, we have a problem.

Me? I'm not convinced that brands deliver anything. They might facilitate some kind of emotional exchange, some—if you will— payment or token for perceived services rendered.

But brands alone deliver diddly-squat.

Now, I know there are thousands of marketing people all across the land who are now rolling their eyes because they think I'm an idiot.

But the reality is that until the product or service has created a relationship with the customer and solved that customer's problem, until the product has generated some significance and made some vital impression, you don't have a brand; you have a product with a set of features and a logo, yes. But you don't have a brand. Not a seared into memory, indelibly stamped tattoo connection, because in truth, that's what a brand is: it's the bridge between want, need, desire or problem, and the distant shore of fulfillment, of a promise kept, of a need met, or of an expectation wildly exceeded.

This last bit, that's where your sentiment comes in. But quite how you measure this on the telly? Well, I'm afraid that's beyond me dear chap, really it is—short of giving electric shocks or having a big boxing glove come flying out of the VCR when Bubba says "Yearh! I reemembah them thare Duritos commercials!" when of course, Bubba has seen no such thing.

Key metrics? Hmm. If Bubba gets up to take a leak, or goes out to shoot beer cans off the split rail for five minutes and misses your commercial, then what of your metrics, whatever they may be?

It's for this reason, and for the reason that the only true metric (God, how I hate the term "metric") in anything to do with branding isn't branding at all. It's sales.

Did the ads concerned cause an increase in sales for a given period (compared to a control period noted before the ads ran), during and after the ad's run?

Was there still recollection of the product and its core strengths, primary benefits, and principle values in terms of solving any given problem in a period AFTER the ads' total run had ended, and were people still aware of, and more importantly, still buying the product even though the ads were no longer running?

I think the "key metrics" here happen not with the airing of the spot, but in its wake, and dependent on its repetition, its salience, its significance, and its ability to lead customers along set persuasion pathways towards a clearly defined call to action: this is the product, this is what it does and the benefits it offers, and this is where to buy it.

Not sure here if I've answered your question. But regardless, I hope this gives you food for thought.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA