The German Ad agency, Scholz & Friends, has produced a video that takes a quick look at how things have progressed from the ad world in the 1940’s to today’s socially connected, conversation driven marketplace.
This video illustrates not only how consumers have changed the way they communicate and value recommendations, but how an expected level of continuity has expanded beyond marketing messages and products. Consumers now expect companies to deliver the consistent experiences across the board. It doesn’t matter if I’m communicating with company Y on the customer service line, Twitter or the showroom floor, I expect the same consistent experience.
For more discussion on continuity, I’ll leave it to my Conversation Capital friends from Sid Lee.
(Scholz & Friends video found via: David Griner and Karl Long)
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My question to you:
How much of a brand’s continuity is within a company or brand manager’s control?
Company has a role in brand continuity primarily because of the overall experience of the brand. The experience is likely to determine the perception of the brand and experience is cross functional
I think a great deal of the continuity is within the control of the company, though very very little within the pervue of the brand manager. Continuity is created through experiences with product quality, customer service, ease of use and measured against brand messaging.
In that light, maximizing continuity can be approached via:
1. Ensuring a superior product
2. Making that product easy to use
3. Supporting those who have difficulty using it, and doing so quickly, quietly and efficiently
4. Building a brand around the above tenets
The company and the brand manager are in a good position to influence the quality and quantum of the brand experience and conversation. Continuity, is hence, within the control and influence of the company.
Very relevant presentation!
I’m forwarding it ASAP. I think the tag-line of the video said it all, “Don’t you have something interesting to say?” Exactly right.
With consumers being bombarded with pointless, mind-numbing pablum and rejecting advertising so fervently (and who can blame them, with so much of current advertising being insultingly moronic and focused at the LCD – Lowest Customer Denominator, natch) the ‘meat’ of your marketing message is important now more than ever.