Brand as an Idea..On an article from BE

There was an article in Brand equity yesterday which talked about Unilever’s new marketing strategy for their brands .It’s an interesting concept worth considering in our context and reinforces the fact that we have been ideating for our wet wipes business- viz “Brands are not just about a product but an idea that people can buy into and that Demand can be created.”

Before I update my blob, given below is a pointer excerpt from the article (Brand Equity 27^th March).

 

Trying to liken the concepts discussed to our business model wherever parallels can be drawn.

1. Put People First: Looking at people through the lense of their lives. This is very important specially for us since we are into building a new habit and creating a category. With this premise, we can target need gaps in “Personal Hygiene”

2. Building brand love: I call it “The Apple effect”, as this happens over a period of time, when a brand consistently comes up with a WOW. Apple doesn’t come up with best of the ads but whenever there’s an announcement made, there’s a bee line outside the store. Their ads generally have a big bold product without human faces…A format which most of the agencies would hate but today it is one of the most loved brands in the world.
3. Unlock the magic: As mentioned in the article , its about getting the balance right between Magic and Logic , the art and science of Marketing. The applicability of this principle to our business comes across in the Media channels selection criteria. I strongly believe TVC is not the medium to create excitement around the brand. Not every brand comes with a big budgets. As rightly said, it is all about striking a balance between creative and marketing. It all boils down to a connect with the end user. As a passionate Branding person, I strongly believe - The consumer doesn’t know anything till he is told about… Ie Demand can be created and can be moved from a good to have to a need stage.
It is this strategic framework that, the Wet wipes business of ours can partially borrow from and in our own way implement selectively in everything we do from product development to taking it to the consumer.
Going forward we should look at developing products that target consumer pain points. This will help create curiosity and force the end user to take a notice. It will create more PRable stories and draw footfalls….
Leveraging the potential of mobile, which has a penetration higher than a TV is another interesting option that hasn’t been tapped yet . The future of marketing communication is fast changing and impacting the way we have been doing things in past…It’s time we relook at our approach and embrace the change.

Cheers