The eighth most important thing to know about building winning brands is that brands must exhibit admirable human qualities.
It seems as though everyone loves to hate Wal-Mart. Why? Consider the way that it approaches its vendors, employees, competitors and customers. Arrogance and being a bully are not admirable human qualities. (Although, some would argue that a ruthless competitive spirit is in this culture.) It is no wonder that despite its large size and impact on the world, Wal-Mart’s brand equity is low relative to many other large companies.
On the positive side, people love businesses that exhibit a social conscience. Consider Ben & Jerry’s, The Body Shop, Toms of Maine and Paul Newman products. Some brands are mixed in their delivery on this attribute. While Martha Stewart clearly stands for good taste, there are examples about her occasionally less-than fully pleasant personality and of course her violation of SEC laws.
Exhibiting admirable human qualities is especially important for brands during crises. Companies that respond quickly and honestly, companies that accept responsibility, companies that show concern for those affected, companies that keep those affected informed about what is going on, companies that strive to “make the situation right” can recover from and even become stronger from a crisis. Companies that don’t often don’t recover at all. Witness Drexel Burnham Lambert.
The Blake Project Can Help: The Brand Positioning Workshop
Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education
2 comments
David Koopmans
March 28, 2007 at 4:27 am
Very nice point Brad; this is something that is probably not often recognised and yet has such an impact on people.
Customers, suppliers, employees; we do see a company as another person; it can be the teller or the CEO but we interact with people.
The challenge we all face of course is how to get a whole organisation to think of their company as something with human characteristics, consistently. How often do CEO’s change? Do they take the culture with them?
Tuccelli
June 29, 2007 at 10:51 am
Building a winning brand is not easy. Logos, Colors, Fonts, Ethics. Many things enter the mix. You can recognize Coca Cola from a mile away. Their destinctive font and color are all thats needed. Dunkin Donuts is another example of great Branding.
Comments are closed.