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.

Stay focused

If you want to be desirable, you need to stay focused. That's one of the lessons to take from a recent study asking British consumers which brands they most desired. (You can read about the survey here). According to the study, one of the attributes of a desirable brand is a simple proposition - clarity about the values they stand for.

It seems simple. But it's a brave step to take. Because to have real clarity of message and offer, you are targeting one sector of the market - and excluding the other.

The example used in the article is Bang & Olufsen (19th on the list). They produce high-end, high quality products... with a high price. That's their positioning, and they don't deviate from it. They focus on quality. And therefore exclude anyone who can't, or won't, pay for that level of quality.

Another example of a very focused (and successful) brand is Apple. They have four (yes, four!) entries in the top 20 (The iPhone, iPod, iTunes, and the Apple brand itself). Different products, but the same values - the same proposition - behind each one: great user experience. That's a customer focused brand. Everything about the Apple brand is focused on the user experience. (We've written about this before).

So take a look at your business. What's your proposition? What do you stand for? What benefit do you give to your clients? If you can focus on the answers to those questions, your customers will focus their attention on you.

If you'd like to know more about those questions - and their answers - you might be interested in our free seminar.

Past, present and future

I read an article about Pret A Manger in Marketing Week last week, and it raised an interesting issue: How the past can impact the future, unless you take some action in the present.



Pret A Manger is a chain of sandwich shops (240 outlets), and for a time they were part-owned by McDonalds. Now they're not (for the past 3 years), but it's proving difficult to get rid of the legacy. So they're about to embark on communication campaign to change that perception.

I came across a similar story in conversation with an organisation that are local to us in the south west. They haven't been tarnished by an association with a global purveyor of junk food, but they have got a legacy that they are struggling to leave behind. Their audience has two perceptions of the organisation - one relating to a geographic location, the other to an activity they were associated with (which wasn't a core business activity). They are no longer involved in either, but the perception remains, 4 years later, and it's restricting their ability to move the organisation forward.

Two very different stories, but a similar impact and outcome. Past perceptions restricting the ability for an organisation to move forward.

It's not so hard for it to happen. There are lots of situations where it might occur:
• It could be the skills or experience you're associated with; your skills and experience move on, client perceptions don't.
• It could be your geographic reach; your services spread further afield, but customer perception doesn't follow.
• It could be negative associations your new audience has of previous clients or suppliers. You've left them behind, but the negative perceptions have followed you.

So take a look at your business, and ask yourself:
• Does your audience really understand who you are now?
• Or is their perception stuck in the past?
• And what impact will that have on your future?

If you don't like the answers to those questions, you might be interested in joining us at one of our seminars: Unlock the value of your brand.

Or you can email jonathan@alderandalder.co.uk or call 01392 248107.

Brand tip: Brand new friend

There are plenty of opportunities to fail. Plenty of opportunities to make a mistake. For a business, the road to success is full of potholes. Your mistake might not cost you billions of dollars like BP, but what would it cost you if you lost your best customer?

While you do the sums, think about this: You're not alone. Your brand will break the fall. Whether it's just a late delivery, or a mistake in the bill, there are lots of ways your brand can help.

Your brand's not just ONE thing, it's a combination of several. There are four brand 'touch points' (opportunities to engage with your audience): Your product or service; Your people; Your communication; Your working environment. If you make a mistake in one area, you can try and compensate in the others.

Make sure you have emotional with your customers. How do your customers feel about your products or service? Like any relationship, if they care enough about your product or service, they will be more willing to forgive your short-comings. Your brand is the key to emotional engagement.

Identify your target customers and focus your activity and budget on them. These are the customers who will take your business where you want to go, so make sure your brand caters for them, through all of the 'touch points'. What do they need?

So remember, if you look after your brand, it will be able to look after you.

Click here to read more of our Brand Tips.

If you'd like to learn more about what your brand can do for your business, call us on 01392 248107 or email jonathan@alderandalder.co.uk.