Brand ownership: Who's in control?

"Your brand is not what you say it is, it's what Google says it is"

This is a quote from Marina Willer, Creative Director at Wolff Olins, at an event earlier this week. It's certainly a conversation starter. It tackles the question of brand ownership head-on. Does a company own a brand? Or their audience? It's a fascinating topic!

For me, it's quite clear. As a business you create a brand. But that brand exists - comes to life - in the minds of your audience. There's a simple exercise you can go through to demonstrate that principle...

Think of a brand or business that you really hate. It could be a bank (always high on the list at the moment). It could be BT (a regular favourite for #Fail on Twitter). It could just be a supplier that let you down. High on my list at the moment is Ryanair, following a mix up with our holiday flights - and that's before we even get to the airport.

Now think about how you feel about that business, and what you've said to friends and colleagues about them. Do you think that is how that business wants to be viewed? Do you think that is the response they're looking for? Probably not. What can they do to change your opinion? If you saw an advert for them , or read a piece of their literature would it change your opinion? Probably not.

They're not in control of how you perceive their brand. They can't control your attitude or opinion of their brand. They can influence, but they can't control.

So what does that mean for business? Is brand extinct? Has it lost its value?

I don't think so. Word of mouth has always been there (and remember, it works both ways, positive and negative). All the internet does is accelerate the spread of the conversation, and increase the reach of it. It doesn't matter what scale you work at - global, national , regional, local. People talk about your business. People define your brand. Face-to-face and online, with friends and complete strangers. It's happening all around you. As a business there are two questions to ask yourself:
1/ Do we know what people are saying about us?
2/ Are we taking all the opportunities we have to influence that conversation?

If you're interested in the answers to those questions, you might be interested in our seminar: Unlock the value of your brand. We have two events scheduled, the first in June and then another in July. If you'd like to join us, do click on a link. It would be good to see you.