brandknewmag.com
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2. Delight with novelty
Brands tend to have the same routines. Changing things up
a bit and adding a little variety to your world can really spice
things up: a seasonal play, a promotional “wow,” an event
that’s out of the ordinary—what might seem like a gimmick is
actually a good thing, as long as it’s on brand—to make the
bond even stronger.
On the flip side, the owners of Amy’s Baking Company in
Arizona missed an opportunity to use constructive criticism
to their benefit—and possibly led to the demise of their own
company—when they engaged in a social media war with
critics of the brand on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit.
Tuning in to your audience through modern marketing tools
is more than a box to check in a media plan. It is a way to
validate what consumers experience and to make a connection
that much stronger.
4. Create surprise that’s emotionally
relevant
When is the last time your brand did something surprising
that reactivated a relationship or brought consumers back
into the franchise through emotional depth? An unexpected
move can be disruptive, but it can also lengthen an emotional
bond to become lasting.
Dove’s recent beauty social experiment was a wow that
hit an emotional cord and sealed the deal that Dove owns
empathetic female empowerment.
Starbucks consistently takes the holiday season to a whole
new level by creating expectations around an extended
theme; everything from product offerings to design gets a
merry lift.
Brillo recently went back in time and featured Warholinspired packaging to mark its 100th anniversary. The retrocool design made a splash and reminded us that Brillo offers
something beyond products for daily chores: post-modern
art—and a connection to our own pasts.
3. Know when to over-communicate and
when to listen (genuinely)
Brands believe they have an ear to ground via Facebook and
Twitter, but successful engagement requires open, two-way
communication. Have a robust, transparent dialogue with
your consumers to showcase how good you are at listening
and at being emotionally honest.
Tropicana’s famous packaging redo a few years ago not only
brought the power of the consumer voice front and center but
also solidified the new two-way street in brand relationships.
Oreo’s “Dunk in the dark” real-time response to the Super
Bowl blackout, using social media outlets such as Twitter and
Facebook, showed that it not only listens to culture but also
has finely tuned brand behavior reflexes to prove it is present
in and part of, the customer’s life.
Huggies has developed a sensor device called the Huggies
Tweet Pee that attaches to baby’s diaper to notify parents via
text or Twitter that it’s time for a change. It’s an innovation
that understands how 21st century parents relie on technology
to connect them to parenting basics and creates all-too-real
empathetic understanding of how busy parents are.
Let your brand surprise with product innovation or commercial
ingenuity that keeps communication fresh, relevant and
empathetic.
5. Embrace companion love
In brand love, there’s nothing like true loyalists. They get
deeply and emotionally involved with your brand, and they
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