Have companies forgotten their end-users? Are companies afraid of trying new methods because of the managers' relentless focus on taking the safe decision? Is communicating and cooperation with the consumers considered boring versus getting acknowledgement from the advertising world with creative branding campaigns? Are companies just praising themselves and trying to get attention by the benchmark industries?
Why don't we try to connect with the generation of yesterday, the baby boomers of today and the generations of tomorrow, by taking them seriously and involve them in our plans? Are companies afraid of loosing control of their brands and their self-righteously strategies?
We think that the "old" saying 'you have never got fired by buying IBM' is actually manifested in the root of most brand managers conscience to the effect that 'you have never got fired by buying media time'. We think that managers today are relying on traditional branding methods to keep their jobs and to obtain the yearly bonus. Branding is an excellent tool, but it isn't distinct anymore -it's just something you need to do in order to exist in a dynamic world. Branding is the new lowest level of the pyramid -A platform which you have to build upon. We need new initiatives based on a totally new logic.
Whether you have a company with a branded house architecture or a house of brands architecture, you have to realize that the meaning of the brand(s) isn't the same among different groups of consumers or customers. The traditional persistent focus on aligning image and identity is old fashion in our point of view.
There was a time when products where sold only on properties. There was a time when these properties where extended with an emotional added value. There was a time when these emotional expressions really meant the world for consumers. But these days are over if a company really want to succeed. We are not saying that companies should skip these efforts, but simply they should extend their expressions further. The point is that today consumers want to take action and be involved whenever they make a choice. Actually we are talking about the levels of involvement re products are getting extinct. It is the situation in which you want to consume, which is the real new issue.
Even though consumers are facing lack of time and tons of choices, they want to be sure if their choice is the right one in relation to the occasion of the consumption. Of cause everybody aren't thinking this way, why the old school branding approach still matters, but more and more communities are discussing these issues. We believe that these communities or subcultures -if you like- are the new lead users and makers of influence for a lot of identity starving people around the world. We have to ad meaning to our propositions by interacting with the consumers.
Why is it that a product ends up by being a product? Is it just the R&D departments who are thinking new thoughts or are they influenced by trends and fashion? We believe so. Fashion and trends in general are influenced by subcultures who have the ability to influence the mainstream consumers.
We are trying to prepare a guide or logic to approach these subcultures in a non cynical manner, which we believe is the way to real differentiation. An almost Wipperfürth anachronism would be the emergence of the word Co-created branding. A word we believe in.
Today brands are icons and statements, which consumers want to interact with, both in form of perception and to experience personal nirvana. But be aware they know what marketing is about and they don't want to be cynical manipulated. They want a share of the equity. A win-win situation if established.
Casper & Christian
