The Brand Experience Cycle

When we think about people's interactions with a brand, we think of all the various touch points where we can influence a person's perceptions of a brand and encourage purchase. Often, we think of these interactions in terms of a purchase funnel, which begins with fostering awareness and ends with a purchase, as shown below:

Personally, I feel this is incomplete. In fact, I think the point of purchase is when a brand truly begins to prove itself - there has been a lot of talk but very little action. This is an extremely short-term view of customer interactions with a lack of long-term vision in developing a customer relationship!

To illustrate a more long-term view on interacting with customers I like to use, what I call, the Brand Experience Cycle:
There are a lot of similar steps leading up to purchase that involve learning about the brand through various means. However, there are 3 big differences:

1. It includes post-purchase steps that help foster a relationship with the customer
2. It's cyclical, rather than linear, because it knows the customer relationship, if positive, will continue and grow as advocacy leads to repeat purchase and the spread of positive word of mouth (WOM)
3. Lastly, it centers on the brand's purpose - every interaction and message relates back to the organization's brand promise!

In essence, this diagram can be split in half:

The first half of the cycle (Awareness, Desire & Immersion) is an opportunity for the organization to communicate its brand purpose and promise to consumers - making promises. And the back half (Purchase, Nurture & Advocacy) is where the brand puts its money where its mouth is by engaging with customers - validating those promises. It is here, in the back half, which is so often forgotten, where customers form strong perceptions of a brand, which will determine how they will talk about the organization to others.

Naturally, we trust our friends and family more than advertising, because, to consumers, it's more credible. So, if a brand follows through on its promises with actions (reasons to believe), customers will begin to trust the brand because it has established credibility. In turn, these happy customers will begin to spread positive WOM, causing new consumers to enter and move through the cycle! So not only has the organization satisfied its customers, but it has also gained additional customers! Talk about win-win!

Buck Rogers, a former VP of Marketing at IBM, once said:

"It takes $1 to maintain a customer; $10 to gain a new customer & $1,000 to win back a lost customer"

I think this quote exemplifies the importance of considering the back half of the Brand Experience Cycle, because if you don't nail the back half of the cycle, the brand runs the risk of losing a customer - a costly situation!

So, it is imperative that when you think about the various touch points for potential customer interactions, you don't neglect or consider the post-purchase experience as an after thought, because it is in these interactions where organizations can validate their brand promise, influence perceptions and help spread credible 3rd party recommendations!

Tactile Branding: The New Coke Can

Today, I was skimming through PSFK, a great site for cool, new & inspirational ideas, and I came across an article on Coke's new touchscreen vending machines, which are, currently, being testing at select malls across the USA. The below video does a great job explaining and showing how amazing these interactive machines are:

This is a great way to create a memorable experience that embeds the brand into the consumer's mind, as they have, now, had a chance to personally engage with the brand! And to be honest - it sure makes buying something from a vending machine a lot more fun!

What also struck me was the iconic shaped aluminum can that popped out of the machine:
A few years back, I read the book Brand Sense, by Martin Lindstrom. The book talks about becoming a memorable and highly recognizable brand by utilizing the 5 senses - touch, taste, sound, smell & sight. Essentially, branding beyond the logo - creating more ways to ensure your brand is recognizable, even if the logo isn't present.

He mentions the idea of being 'smashable', which I absolutely love! To be a truly 'smashable' brand, you should be able to take any product, service, etc. and break it into a million little pieces and still know what brand that product belonged to!

For instance, if I covered the Apple logo on my computer...

Image from Marty Neumeier's book The Brand Gap

... you would still know it was an Apple product. Even if I smashed my MacBook on the ground (which I would NEVER do), you would be able to pick up a key from the keyboard and know that it came from an Apple computer. This is because Apple thinks of how its brand will present itself in every medium through all senses.

This is exactly what the original designers of the, now, iconic glass bottle kept in mind when designing the bottle for the first time. They wanted a bottle that could be recognized as Coca-Cola even if they were holding it blindfolded, hence the unique curves and ripples around the bottle. They also wanted it so that when the bottle was found in pieces on the ground, people would know it was coke from the greenish glass.

It was a shame to see all that hard work slip into the background as plastic bottles and aluminum cans came onto the market – especially with the generic aluminum cans.

After reading this portion of the book, I couldn’t help but think – they will have to come up with a shaped aluminum can one of these days to reinvigorate the iconic Coke bottle, which has become as recognizable as the organization's logo itself! So, needless to say, I was excited to see an aluminum can shaped like the iconic Coke bottle pop out of these new vending machines, because not only are they eliminating a generic brand experience with the regular can, but they now have a vending machine that will make this more easily mass distributed!

It’s so important, as a brand, to create as many unique and memorable experiences that communicate the brand essence, because as I mentioned in my Digital Reasons to Believe post, people are 10-20 times more likely to repurchase a brand that they have shared a positive and memorable experience with.

Coke is definitely one of those brands. I mean they're the number one brand in the world, with a value of $68.7 Billion - their brand is worth more than the organization's tangible assets!

Image from Marty Neumeier's book The Brand Gap

Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2009

Today, Interbrand's Best Global Brands report was released!! I always look forward to this report, so I will be spending my evening reading it! Check it out at www.interbrand.com

The top 10 brands are:

1. Coca-cola $68,734 ($m)
2. IBM $60,211 ($m)
3. Microsoft $56,647 ($m)
4. GE $47,777 ($m)
5. Nokia $34,864 ($m)
6. McDonald's $32,275 ($m)
7. Google $31,980 ($m) another huge jump at 25%
8. Toyota $31,330 ($m)
9. Intel $30,636 ($m)
10. Disney $28,447 ($m)

This report is always full of insight on what organizations are doing to help or hurt their brand value. I'm sure I will have plenty to share once reading it... stay tuned!

Valentino - Uncompromising Beauty

Luxury fashion labels, to me, represent great branding. There's an utter unwillingness to compromise on the vision. There is a purpose - a dream that drives these spectacular designers to create their masterpieces. They design what is in their heart and what they feel emulates and satisfies the dream! From this stems beauty & glamour that people long to associate themselves, which drives demand and, therefore, high margins validating their luxury status!

Today, I saw Valentino: The Last Emperor, which got me thinking about great brands - brands that are able to adapt through the ages without compromising the dream.

Valentino had a purpose - a desire to create beautiful clothes for women - for women who loved to wear dressed and be beautiful! Throughout his career, Valentino did just that - designing clothes for the glamourati of the world, from princesses to Hollywood starlets! Valentino's dedication to his dream made him the fashion icon he is, and elevated his organization and brand to the level it is today!

It was amazing to see how everyone, who worked with him, knew they were designing clothes to make women beautiful! The dream lived in everyone - they had a common goal that drove them forward. Valentino was simply the compass guiding the brand and keeping it on course!

It was interesting to learn that when Valentino, the organization, hired designer Alessandra Facchinetti to become Valentino's successor, in 2008, she was abruptly dismissed after less than a year with the label, and was immediately replaced by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, who had been creating accessories for Valentino for more than 10 years. I found this particularly interesting after looking at Alessandra's collection from 2008 and Maria & Pier's collection in 2009:

Valentino Couture by Valentino in 2007

Valentino Couture by Alessandra in 2008

Valentino Couture by Maria & Pier in 2009

The two collections, post Valentino, are drastically different. Alessandra seemed to replace Valentino's iconic beauty with bold structure. Comparing it to the 2009 collection, designed by Valentino veterans, you begin to see the beautiful draping of material, which reintroduced the beauty Valentino was so passionate about!

Although Alessandra's 2008 collection was impressive and well received, it did not encapsulate Valentino's dream of feminine beauty, as he implied when asked about the change in designers:

"There is an archive of thousands of dresses that one can draw from to be inspired and create a Valentino product that keeps up with the times," the retired designer was quoted as saying by Italy's ANSA news agency. "Shame the one who came before them did not feel this need." (New York Daily News)

It was the two designers, who lived the brand and absorbed its essence from Valentino, that were able to create a collection that embodied the brand while keeping it fresh and exciting!

Great brands are guided by a dream, in this case, the desire to make beautiful clothes for women, and the strength to not compromise on that dream!

The New Economy: Where Branding and Digital Become Essential

Last week, my first blog entry was posted on Critical Mass' blog, Experience Matters! Feel free to check it out when you get a chance! A lot of great content is posted there: http://experiencematters.criticalmass.com

Here is my post from Experience Matters:

Recently, Umair Haque's presentation on Constructive Capitalism caught my attention.

Umair Haque @ Daytona Sessions vol. 2 - Constructive Capitalism from Daytona Sessions on Vimeo.

In short, this presentation discusses a shift in the economy from strategy to ideals, claiming that organizations can no longer be successful by trying to dominate markets or coerce people into buying products. He feels this is a result of an influx in richer and freer interactions among customers and between customers & organizations - this is no doubt a result of an increase in social media adoption through digital platforms.

With this economic shift, there is a change in its associated institutions, which act as the rules to interaction. The 20th Century institutions led to various crises that have encouraged this change:

Looking at the 21st Century institutions, Umair believes this economic shift starts with meaning - focusing on creating positive outcomes rather than income - and by focusing on meaning, the other institutions will follow.

As a person passionate about branding, and who uses digital to leverage brands, I gravitated to this thinking because of its emphasis on creating interactions through ideals, which requires a combination of strong branding & engaging digital initiatives.

There are strong correlations between Umair's Constructive Capitalism and branding. I believe all great brands have purpose - a core goal/idea that keeps the organization focused and consistent in its actions. This purpose is not about achieving high returns (income), rather it's about making meaning - to change the world, right a wrong - essentially creating positive outcomes that are focused on ideals rather than strategy.

Google has an exemplary purpose to 'organize the world's information and make it universally accessible'. This audacious goal/ideal motivates the organization because they feel like they are contributing to something grander than a bottom line. This internal motivation and guiding purpose enables the organization to look beyond existing markets & innovate to find new ways to satisfy its purpose - focusing on equity rather than domination.

The key to successful branding is to live your brand purpose - be consistent in your actions and create reasons to believe in the brand.

What I love about digital is its ability to create reasons to believe - or what I like to call Digital Reasons to Believe. Digital initiatives can create engaging experiences that provide services, support and, most importantly, a 2-way dialogue which bring the brand to life. It creates interactions, which are the foundation of this new economy.

Twitter, Facebook, forums, blogs, etc. make us freer to foster relationships with customers rather than focusing on transactions. This extends the lifetime value of our customers & generates positive brand recommendations. In addition, these digital interactions enable us to learn from our customers & discuss new ideas/products/etc., which results in users receiving more value in the end because they have been a part of the development process.

Digital platforms enable us to create meaningful interactions, which in turn helps organizations better satisfy their purpose to make meaning & create positive outcomes.

I'm excited & passionate to be a part of this new economy. I look forward to seeing more interactions and meaningful ideals!