Why consumers don’t own brands

Written by Opinion desk on July 20, 2010 – 11:27 am -

 By Velma Botha, head of Oil, Cape Town

For as long as I have been in the branding business, I have questioned the notion that “companies don’t own brands, consumers do.” So it was refreshing to read a recent piece by Andrew Harrison in which he dismisses this view as a “load of bullocks”.

Harrison says: “It’s nonsense because it’s not true. Brand owners, employees and shareholders own brands. Consumers consume. Marketing folk are confusing what the brand stands for (the message) and how it communicates in the modern media landscape (the medium).”

Consumers are indeed increasingly powerful and have long ceased to passively consume. But that does not mean ownership of brands should be handed to them. Instead, brand owners must work harder to manage their brands. They must lead consumers with compelling messages and influence them through powerful dialogue. By relinquishing control to consumers, brand owners  abdicate their responsibilities.

A great example of how a brand has taken ownership is Old Spice. This old Procter & Gamble brand  realised that women purchase 70% of shower gel for men in their households, but the use of body-wash was considered unmanly. The challenge was to market Old Spice shower gel to women, yet convey the product as masculine so men would choose it over bar soap.

The campaign started with the brilliant 30sec “Smell like a man, man,” TV ad starring Isaiah Mustafa, which won the 2010 Cannes Grand Prix for film. This was followed by another ad, and very soon Old Spice had captured consumers’ imaginations by engaging them in fantastic dialogue.

To promote the launch of the new ad, the brand fielded questions to Old Spice Man through Twitter and Facebook.  Mustafa, meanwhile, stood wrapped in a towel in a bathroom set nearby the agency in Portland, Oregon, where four writers quickly scripted responses.

Velma Botha

Over two days the brand responded to consumers’ questions by uploading 185 videos – most around a minute long – to YouTube,  including personalised responses to Alyssa Milano, Demi Moore and George Stephanopoulous (The Today Show). Three days after the campaign launched, the response videos drew more than 5,2m views on YouTube, while the brand’s Twitter followers were up to 48000 from 3000.

So how has Old Spice owned its brand?
*It has not been governed by what consumers think of the brand. In most people’s view, Old Spice was a tired brand, “something my dad wears”. If Old Spice had not dismissed the historical view and owned the brand, it would never have been able to shift perceptions in this way.

 
*It has owned the message and engaged consumers. By choosing to respond using videos of Isaiah (not via Twitter or Facebook), Old Spice ensured it was consistently getting the right message to consumers, while keeping them entertained.

*It has stayed ahead of consumers. The fast response time (185 videos in two days) meant the brand led all the time. Old Spice also chose who to respond to, thereby managing the conversation.

A classic example of a brand that has totally lost control is BP. Yet one can argue that if your brand stands for “Beyond Petroleum” – and then causes one of the biggest man-made disasters in history – the owners and shareholders no longer deserve to own the brand.

No-one denies consumers are increasingly in control. But using what they think to influence our strategy is a dangerous place to be. It suggests a rearview mirror approach to the world.

Oil is a brand strategy and research consultancy that is part of the Lowe Bull group of companies.


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