Brand Lovers Form Brand Communities

by Scott JeffreyJan 18, 2011

Your best customers love your brand the most. We call these coveted customers Brand Lovers.

Not surprisingly, your Brand Lovers enjoy hanging out with one another, as do most like-minded individuals united by a common passion.

These social groups are called brand communities. When a brand community develops, you can be sure the brand is doing an excellent job serving its best customers.

Businesses with brand communities have a competitive advantage and enjoy an unprecedented level of word of mouth around their products and services.

Companies like Life is Good, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Zappos, Turner Classic Movies, LL Bean, Amazon.com, Harley-Davidson, Apple, and Oprah’s Harpo all profit from the power of brand communities.

But why do customers join brand communities and how can you support their growth?

Here’s an informative slideshow from the creative minds of Cult Branding:

If you enjoyed this slideshow, check out Why We Join: A Sociological and Psychological Analysis of Brand Communities.

Why Coauthored Brands will Rule the World

by Aaron ShieldsJan 14, 2011

Over half a century ago, consumer research was considered irrelevant and the ad-man-as-god model ruled the landscape: whatever the advertising said the product was, that’s what the product was, and you needed it.

Forward thinkers caught on early: Theodore Levitt in his classic Marketing Myopia argued that the downfall of companies is a lack of focus on the consumer perspective; and advertising guru Bill Bernbach realized that consumers really weren’t paying attention to everything the companies were shouting in their ads:

Do you know that 85% of ads don’t get looked at?…They ignore us…We’re right about everything, but nobody looks.

Decades later, spurred on by the rise of the Internet and consumer generated media, focus shifted to the opposite end of the spectrum, and shouts from the advertising world echoed around the world: “Help! The consumer is now in control!”

The latest incarnation of the consumer-in-control model was explored by Rob Walker in his popular Buying In: the best brands act as blank slates for consumers to craft their own personal history. One brand Walker highlights is Red Bull, showing how a variety of different people from extreme-sports enthusiasts to club goers have latched onto the drink. Yet, despite never telling consumers what they should think of the product, Red Bull, as detailed in Alex Wipperfurth’s Brand Hijack, releases a manual to determine which events are on brand and off brand—hardly the behavior of a company that gives over total meaning to the consumer.

The truth is that consumers never were and never will be in control, and neither were or will the companies and their advertising agencies. Great brands have always realized that, just like in all aspects of life, there are two parts to great relationships—it’s a constant give and take.

Over at The Cult Branding Company, we help clients understand the nature of this relationship—we like to use the term “coauthored brands.” The brand sets the initial context, grounded in the nature of its products (Red Bull can’t get away from its extreme nature, it’s an energy drink, and Apple would be hard pressed to anchor its brand away from beauty and creativity), of what its value is for the customer, but from that point it becomes altered and refined through a constant dialogue between the customers and the brand.

This coauthored experience is something that it is hard for many brands, especially large ones, to understand and even harder to implement. One brand that really gets it is Wine Library TV and its creator Gary Vaynerchuk.

After transforming his parents’ alcohol business into the over $45-million-a-year wine business Wine Library, Gary picked up early on the trend of social networking (a Twitter user since 2006), and promoting his brand online. With that in mind he created Wine Library TV where he regularly broadcasts episodes of him tasting and evaluating wine.

His goal with the show is to inspire passion for wine among his viewers, inviting them to find wines that “bring the thunder” for them—wines that excite them and deepen their passion for the Dionysian juice.

And this is where Gary really excels. Although he rates the wines on his show, he reiterates how important it is to find your own taste in wine, and explore the wine world, making it okay if you like a wine he doesn’t.

Gary even admits he likes drinking wines he doesn’t rate highly, because they expand his knowledge of wine and he finds them interesting. This is in contrast to other critics in the industry whose reviews that focus on a point hierarchy that gives the wine drinker little incentive to try a wide variety of wines.

Gary counts more than 80,000 viewers on Wine Library TV daily (in addition to over 850,000 Twitter followers), with his most devoted fans deubbing themselves Vayniancs. This Vayniac nation cuts across demographic barriers, ranging from people who started out like Gary—those interested in wine who are too young to drink and yearning for the time they can try their first glass—to even seasoned wine professionals.

Gary understands that the real force behind changing people’s opinions on the accessibility of wine, and therefore building his brand, lies with his viewers.

Gary signs off each show with, “You, with a little bit of me, we’re changing the wine world.” It’s rare for brands to understand the nature of a co-authored brand and how critical it is to developing a successful, lasting following. Kudos to Gary for getting something so few brands do.

Now that Gary is expanding his business into the consulting business Vaynermedia with his brother AJ Vaynerchuk, he is conveying the same message to his clients. In a video blog post in May, Gary speaks of what he likes to call storytelling, and how great storytelling becomes the property of the group by the end, as everyone adds a little bit to it. Gary’s use of storytelling is another way to think of a coauthored experience.

Many companies entering the “social media” stream (Vaynerchuk hates the phrase and so do I, my part because it encourages thinking of it as just another media channel alternative to radio and television) are treating it just like another channel for broadcasting messages. The ultimate use of this medium will for brands to be able to establish a strong connection with their fervent consumer base, deepen their understanding of their passionate fans, and do more of what all great brands have always done: create coauthored experiences.

The Ultimate Business Lens

by Scott JeffreyJan 12, 2011

The last post explained how your pervasive internal questions produce a lens through which you evaluate information and make decisions. If you’re a marketer, you have certain marketing questions posed in mind. What driving questions do you need to consistently ask in order to determine how best to proceed?

At our company (Cult Branding), we believe we have developed the ultimate business lens to help businesses make effective decisions that lead to long-term profitability.

Peter Drucker reminded us that “the purpose of business is to create a customer.” Thank you, Mr. Drucker. Very true.

But you also know that all customers are not created equal. Some customers are more loyal, and therefore, more profitable. If you serve your loyal customers better than anyone else, they’ll provide your business with a fortified foundation as well as help you create new customers through word of mouth.

Do you realize how important the lens of your best customers—your Brand Lovers—can be? Do you know who your Brand Lovers are?

Here’s our latest deck to help illustrate the importance of your best customers:

What’s Your Decision-Making Lens?

by Scott JeffreyJan 11, 2011

You actually have multiple lenses. Your base lens is your perceptual filter—how you process information through your five senses. This perceptual filter is colored by past memories, experiences, sensations, and images. Each perceptual filter is unique. Therefore, each of us experiences a slightly different take on reality.

The variance in perceptual filters helps explain how two people can witness the same event and experience it differently. It also explains how two people can be given the same information and come to divergent conclusions. This variance makes most human interactions interesting—sometimes in a good way, other times in a not-so-good way.

You also have specific filters within your job. Based on past learning, training, studying, and experiencing, you have a way of evaluating and interpreting information, like an intuitive algorithm operating in your subconscious. To uncover your hidden algorithm, pay attention to the questions you ask yourself when confronted with a decision. Your pervasive internal questions are the key. The quality of your questions determine your ability to make effective decisions.

For example, if you always ask yourself, “How are we going to stay afloat?” you’re going to restrict your lens to a small puddle of options. But questions like, “How can we better serve our customers?” or “What’s our customer’s primary problem we’re trying to solve?” will lead you to an ocean of opportunity.

By becoming aware of your various business filters, you’ll be empowered to select better questions that yield superior results.

BRAND JORDAN: Uncovering The Soul of the Brand

by BJ BuenoJan 04, 2011

“There has to be a soul to the process. There has to be a real.” – Michael Jordan

Today Brand Jordan is an international icon. To create this icon, amazing people (Jordan + Nike + Design + Soul)  came together and were each allowed to do what they do best. This kind of creative collaboration is very rare, making it difficult to deconstruct. But we should try anyway.

Here are a few simple tips that Jordan reveals. While these might seem basic, the discernment to choose what really appeals to consumers will be elusive to those without an eye for design.

Brand Jordan offers these simple insights:

• Performance is the name of the game
• Your product has to function at the highest level
• Tap into the power of design
  
• Draw attention to the product
  
• Bring style and function together
• Create a unique brand experience

Consider how each insight pushes on the other to create new combinations of experiences for your customer. Each point can lead to fun and creative brainstorms to determine how to take your brand and products to the next level.

Design and Function are both linked to strong product and brand development. Check out how Nike advertising showcases and dramatizes the both the functionality of the brand and the emotional outcome.

BRAND JORDAN: Authenticity and Beyond

by BJ BuenoDec 22, 2010

It is difficult to build an extraordinary brand when the goal is to become the best version of some other brand. Unfortunately, “cloning” brands is often the default strategy for most large corporations.

Those who take the road well traveled want security and are willing to sacrifice true innovation for certainty. But true authenticity is about being true to who you are, even when everyone else wants you to be someone else.

BRAND JORDAN took this idea to heart. No matter what, Jordan stayed the course and followed his own path.

The Air Less Traveled

“There is nothing I have to do for BRAND JORDAN to continue to grow other than to continue being myself.” – Michael Jordan

How many brands are willing to be true to their core values and Brand Lovers, or even to themselves?

Many brands are born out of the passion and authenticity of their founders but never go BEYOND. Fads come and go, but brands are enduring promises that don’t lose their value overnight.

In 1994, Nike sentiment about Jordan was simple: He retired, let’s move on. But the consumer held onto the brand because it was bigger than Jordan playing for the NBA. It was a brand some people LOVED.

Finding Your Brand’s Authenticity

Those products, companies and people who stay true to who they are usually end up being around for a long time. You have to believe in leading and going BEYOND the expectations of your category.

Start by not settling for the solutions that feel like a carbon copy of what’s already been done. Find the ideas that are PURE and HONEST. It’s about making something that at its core is REAL.

BRAND JORDAN: Aspirational

by BJ BuenoDec 15, 2010

“Anything can happen if you are willing to put in the work and remain open to the possibility. Dreams are realized by effort, determination, passion and staying connected to that sense of who you are.” – Michael Jordan

One can never imagine everything that will happen. But dreams are like that. That’s what makes the journey amazing. You have to see your plan and be willing to invest in your vision. But today people are confused by the coldness of our society and its lack of values. Living without values discolors life. Without purpose, life becomes weak. This is also true for brands.

Once a brand loses it’s meaning with the public, it no longer matters. Brands without a purpose in the eyes of the customer die out. Intelligent marketing teams, however, know that aspirations and values are the keys to unlocking the power of their brands. Brand Jordan taps into the power of strong values and dreams.

Michael Jordan said, “We have built the brand based on basic values, old-school values. Those never go out of style.”

Discovering the core values that are at the core of your brand can unlock a new level of inspiration for you and your Brand Lovers. As Human Beings we are motivated not only by survival but also by those values that make us feel alive.

Are you ready to dream big?

Here are a few questions to ask yourself and tips to uncover your core values:

• Why you? Why not you?
• What do your customers love about your brand?
• What human need does your brand help customers satisfy?
• Check in with the previous two answers and ask, what core value do these two questions reveal about the brand?
• Download the Cult Branding Workbook for more fun questions to uncover your true brand soul.

BRAND JORDAN: Uncompromised

by BJ BuenoDec 08, 2010

“You have to be uncompromised in your level of commitment
to whatever you are doing.” – Michael Jordan

There are my fads that emerge into the consumer landscape. Some live long. Some trends disappear before they are noticed. Going beyond a fad and becoming a brand takes a real connection with people. For over 20 years, Brand Jordan has connected with legions of loyal followers.

To obtain this level of loyalty and love, BRAND JORDAN followed an incredible force. This force pulled Jordan to be its very best. This powerful force is known as the constant of excellence.

Is your Brand ready for excellence?

BRAND JORDAN: Earned

by BJ BuenoDec 01, 2010

“No one had to market Michael Jordan.
I marketed myself by what I did on the court.” – Michael Jordan

Today’s professional business world is quick. NBA scouts are tracking twelve-year-old players to catch the next rising star. Trend software run the numbers on each player to generate risk models for casinos. And many NBA marketing programs are built with the expectation of players averaging 30 points per game. But when the players can’t live up to the expectations, the programs fall apart. You can’t fake out the consumer. To build Brand Jordan, each step would be earned.

Michael Jordan’s entrance into the marketing world was shaky. Nike executives were nervous about the release of Air Jordan. Until this point, no one had ever made it work in the basketball industry. But Jordan was about taking everything he did to the next level. If he was on the court, the game was never over.

His fans adored this passion, which quickly translated to the bottom line:

Nikes Original Sales Goal: $3 Million

First Year Sales: $130 Million

Brand Jordan was built on hard work. From its early beginnings, Brand Jordan fought for the top. Each step was earned. EARNED is the best way to know it’s yours. If you keep taking your Brand to the next level, soon you will have a brand that has no equal.

Is your Brand earning its way to your customer’s heart?