Creating and Managing Passion for Brands
In Erik Eliason’s recent blog for the Huffington Post, Why Your Business Needs Brand Advocates, he says, “the value of a "Like" [on Facebook] has become meaningless….your brand's most passionate fans are now mixed with passersby who simply liked your brand to get a $5 coupon.” He goes on to discuss the importance of creating conditions that allow people who have the tightest, most passionate bonds with a brand to easily communicate with others of like mind to reinforce those bonds. His examples of creating affinity networks for brands online is certainly interesting, and something brands have been doing for a long time.
One thing Mr. Eliason said about brands trying to “humanize” particularly struck me. He is certainly correct in asserting that consumers trust other consumers much more than they do brands on social media sites, and that some brands have done a better job than others in “humanizing” the message. Social media, like any other media is a channel for communicating the brand promise. If a brand has not been successful in touching consumers in a meaningful and deeply personal way with its actions and messages through other channels, believing it can suddenly become more “human” because it shows up amidst pictures of your friends is a sadly misguided strategy.
It is true that consumers are controlling brand’s destinies like never before, but Mr. Eliason’s assertion that “Consumers are much more effective at promoting your message than your brand is,” is only partially true for great brands that have created true partnerships with consumers. Their promises, messages and actions are integrated, and they know how to communicate in ways that are real, and appreciated by consumers, regardless of media.
To read the Huffington Post article CLICK HERE.
For more information about Market Probe’s approach to Brand Passion research CLICK HERE.
Judith Ricker is Executive Vice President, Brand Research and Consulting at Market Probe CLICK FOR JUDITH'S BIO.
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