According to a major worldwide qualitative study, ‘Return of the
Product’, by Research International, the focus of branding is shifting
from image to experience in many markets. People are increasingly
demanding that an intense product experience be at the heart of the
brand.
Research International interviewed over 1,200 people in 43 countries
for the study, selecting individuals who acknowledged a ‘high intensity
connection’ with at least one brand to find out what consumers really
want from brands. The information was gathered primarily in
mini-groups, but also from in-depth interviews. Across the 1,200
respondents we collected descriptions of over 3,000 ‘high intensity’
brand relationships. The analysis of this relationship database yields
some interesting insights.
The research was a follow-up to the 2003 ‘Global Brands’ study which
explored perceptions of modern brands and the issues facing
globalisation. Global Brands showed that - in contrast to the arguments
in Naomi Klein’s ‘No Logo’ - today’s global consumers want to protect
their favourite brands and are mostly able to forget and put aside
negative issues such as bad corporate behaviour. There is a strong
feeling against homogenous global branding, but consumers want to
create their own personal, idealised images of the brands.
Return of the Product shows that even where respondents expressed a
sense of brand fatigue, the idea of a world without brands is viewed
with unease. A French participant, for example, says, “If there are no
more brands, I lose my identity.” This feeling is echoed by someone
from Russia, “Life would be boring without brands. Everyone would be
the same” and by a consumer in Singapore, “I would be like everyone
else if there were no brands in the world.”
In Return of the Product , the most frequently mentioned brands were
those which have global distribution and which are positioned around
strong universal psychological propositions, like Nike’s incitement to
action. In our 2003 study we called these brands ‘Master Brands’, and
it is no surprise to see them heading the list of ‘high intensity’
brand connections. The top brands on this list were, in order of
mention: Nokia, Sony, Nike, Coca Cola, Adidas, Levi and Samsung.
Interestingly, the study shows that a brand doesn’t have to be luxury
or niche to create an intense relationship with a consumer. Many of the
relationships described were with mass-market local brands in
categories with a relatively low purchase price such as food, personal
care, household cleaning and consumer durables.
According to the research, customer-brand relationships take four basic
forms. Each fulfils a different need. The first three – brand as
security, social affiliation or as a means of expression and identity –
are based on rational motives or social behaviour. A customer in
Singapore, for example, says, “Oxford tailored shirts make me feel
really special…that I belong to a group of people with discerning
taste.” Or a respondent in Japan says….. “People around you and your
friends can be categorized by the brands they own”.
There is a fourth type of consumer-brand relationship in which the
brand fulfils the consumer’s need for an intense experience. In this
case the brand-consumer relationship is based on an intensified
experience at the moment or moments of use, amplified by brand
communications and by the personal meaning a consumer brings to the
brand. A participant in the survey from Sweden explains the
relationship with ECCO shoes, “I don’t really care if anybody else has
ECCO. I am thinking of myself only – this is really comfort and care
for me and my feet.” A Canadian consumer speaks about Starbucks in
these terms, saying, “I love my Starbucks. They are not just selling me
coffee, they are giving me a whole experience.” Shopping at Ikea is
also described in terms of the experience by a Swede: “Shopping at Ikea
is being part of a big family of Ikeans. There is a deeper thought
behind Ikea. It is not only furniture, it is belonging and caring.”
A respondent in Chile describes a relationship with Patagonia as an
experience, saying, “I think the most important thing is that Patagonia
promotes a healthy life…an outdoor life in which one can live in
harmony with nature. I feel that Patagonia looks after me, gives me a
great experience.” In Asia Pacific, excluding Australia, the
affiliation and expression relationships are most important. And a
Dutch consumer talks about a powerful connection with Gillette, “It’s a
brand to be proud of! I cannot do without Gillette. It’s part of my
life or even better: it is my life. I am Gillette.”
Respondents described the high-intensity connections they feel with
their favoured brands. A key characteristic is a sense of
transformation. These brands enrich the ownership and consumption
experience. Illustrations of the transformative power of the brand
experience cover a broad range of goods and shopping experiences. “When
listening to music with Sony products I forget about everything outside
– it’s only the music and me,” says a participant in the survey from
Austria. “When I’ve had a bad day I go to FNAC. When I leave I’m in a
good mood again, “ says a French consumer. The ice cream brand, Ben and
Jerry’s, is described in a similar way by an American: “Ben and
Jerry’s…it makes the bad go away with just one bite.” And a Hungarian
speaks about what Old Spice provides him, “It you want to lead a
successful and balanced life, it is essential to make peace with
yourself first. It is Old Spice that gives me this balance. It helps me
get my act together in the morning.” Creating high intensity private
relationships will be a key strategy for the survival of many
mainstream brands.
The trend in branding and communication to establish an intense
customer- brand relationship is about making the product the hero. The
study identifies four key means by which brand owners can create an
intense brand experience: differentiation, consistency, caring and
storytelling. A comment by a Japanese consumer sums up the importance
of consistency across each experience with the brand, “Until recently I
perceived Louis Vuitton positively. However, a single word uttered by
their shop clerk made me hate the brand to the extent that the logo
gives me goose bumps.” With the line between service and product
increasingly blurring, these dimensions are important for both.
Return of the Product shows how consumer-brand relationships differ
according to age and life stage. People in each stage – teens (15 –
18), pre-family adults, post family adults and seniors (50 – 55+) form
high intensity bonds within different categories. For teens brands are
most important as a means of expression. They form close, but unstable
relationships with brands, often in fashion, sports, mobile phone,
internet, soft drinks and fast food categories. A reputation for
innovation is most important to the young. This is as true for a
consumer in Chile, “Look at Philips, they are selling exactly the same
as the last 30 years…and with low quality,” as for someone in Norway,
“I could never use Levi’s again. They stagnated in the 80s.” For
pre-family adults the consumer-brand relationship is chiefly about
affiliation and expression. Family adults form relationships with
brands in each of the four modes. The categories Family Adults tend to
form high-intensity connections with include food, alcohol, automotive,
financial, consumer electronic, retail and household care. Seniors tend
to form relationships with brands that offer security and expression,
most often in categories like household and personal care, retail,
travel, food, alcohol and cosmetics.
The Return of the Product study will be launched globally in April 2005 with events in Shanghai, London and Paris.
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