Tag Archives: Brand
Like it or not, Facebook isn’t going away—well not this year anyway! Brands are going where the customers are and that means social media. But just getting liked isn’t enough. Consumers want more, and brands need more than a thumbs-up. Brands will increasingly push the limits of Facebook to enable richer interactions and more meaningful connections. Facebook will be the first point of connection with brands – and not just in some limited way – they’ll have more content, more commerce and more community. Just accept that the rules of privacy have changed, that people will spend millions of dollars on virtual goods and that you really cannot have enough friends. This year, Facebook has won.
Read MoreStep by step, consumers are taking over creative control. Some brands are willingly embracing this opportunity – crowd-sourcing their ad campaigns, giving out prizes for packaging, outsourcing their naming or voting over videos – but others are being forced to play the game more reluctantly. And the corporate logo appears to be the next target. The design story of 2010 was the consumer reaction to the new Gap logo and the back-peddling that followed as Gap succumbed to the pressure of consumer dislike (much like Tropicana did) and went back to the way things were. And now, the new Starbucks logo could be heading for the same fate. Consumers have a voice and when they don’t like something today they have many ways to express it. This year, we are going to see design become the next platform for creative expression – but when is the right time to listen?
Read MoreInternational brands are going to need each other more. Western brands going east; eastern brands going west. We are going to see more deals, more tie-ups and more relationships as brands look to become more relevant and more pervasive in expanding communities around the world. The truth is, brands don’t necessarily need to – or know how or to – do it on their own. International partnerships will give them inroads to new territories and new users where they can find success not just eventually in the long-term, but immediately in the short-term. A new era of global collaboration is underway.
Read MoreTV is falling to pieces, and this year those pieces will start to make more sense than the whole. Stop thinking “everything,” start thinking “something.” Piecemeal programming will start to replace standard subscriptions as more established brands like Apple, Google, Xbox and Amazon – and newer ones like Netflix, Boxee and Roku – compete to offer more ways to access, easier ways to consume and better ways to engage. It may be just a single show, a series or a channel, but Gen Y doesn’t want to get their TV the same way their parents got it or ultimately to pay for it the same way either. As the last bastions of local news and sports crumble to the Internet, á la carte TV will finally become easier, better and here!
Read MoreSo you’ve covered the “How” with consumers, throwing more campaigns and incentives at them; you’ve even answered the big question of “Why should they care?” But consumer engagement can’t stop there. This year, engagement is going to happen more deeply and more authentically as brands turn to their employees to become the living expressions of the brand. From Zappos to Kraft, Urban Outfitters to Berkshire Hathaway, brands are recognizing the real, hidden value of their people as ambassadors – not just their role in the community, but as walking, talking, texting touchpoints. Brands need to find their champions and get rid of their detractors. Teach your employees the essentials of brand evangelism and see them become catalysts for broader brand loyalty.
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