Brand New Traditions

(blog post for Friday, June 21st)

I’ve attended quite a number of engaging seminars throughout the week, but by now (Friday) I am somewhat burnt out from the lecture series. As I pointed out earlier, a lot of these seminars are very useful for those already in the industry—for students, some of the information is lost on us because we aren’t used to thinking like top ad execs are.

But GolinHarris’s workshop “Finding Your Brand’s Voice” was applicable to anybody familiar with brands and psychology. Case studies were shown in which certain brands underwent a makeover that departed from their established identity, which ties back into one of the festival’s themes: authenticity. Sometimes it just sounds like a bullshit buzzword, but it’s an important aspect of retaining brand values and target consumer bases. For instance, Dove beauty products are associated with making women feel like they are worth more than their physical appearance. So if they wanted to seem more appealing to a younger age group, say women 16-25, they wouldn’t take on a Victoria’s Secret-style campaign with flashy commercials featuring supermodels lathering on Dove soap; that contradicts the image they have constructed and would most likely alienate their target market. Seems like an obvious situation to avoid, no?

But it’s a common mistake many companies make. They are so intently focused on their brand that they forget the most important aspect: the consumer. Knowing what the customer wants and fulfilling this want should be the driving force behind any company’s decision to market a product or service. Years ago, Coke thought they needed to change their can’s appearance to appeal to more consumers. Millions of dollars later, they found that audiences hated the new look; what they enjoyed was the traditional can they’d loved for years.

I guess I could be cheesy and impart an appropriate cliché here: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Yet organizations and products still need to be re-introduced from time to time to maintain relevance; from Coke to Apple to Heineken, even brands with devout followers need to keep abreast of the times. This can be achieved without compromising established brand values; all it takes is creativity and innovation. If only there was a festival for that…