This paper does not believe traditional marketing is dead. It does believe the promise of on-line networks and instant information availability will fundamentally change the marketing process. The fundamentals (such as the 4 P's) are still relevant, but only is the starting point to far more activities.
While the fundamentals of marketing are still relevant & useful, the brave new world is going to shake things up.
To summarise:
Branding has 5 new activities driven by emerging internet based technologies and the role of Networks. Attempting to understand and influence these activities is the role of Integral Solutions Perspectives and each is a part and whole in its own right. The 5 areas are:
1) Brand Destiny- a shared understanding of the futures a Brand is travelling to
2) Brand Density- the depth to which a Brand understands its impact on differing, multi-layered and ever expanding consumer values
3) Brand Design- making intention real, purposeful, enjoyed and sustainable
4) Brand Desire- creating the mechanisms that fulfil needs, whether understood or not
5) Brand Delight- getting and staying noticed in an unending sea of noise & distrust
Managing the reputation of a brand is no longer a command and control process. The conversation is far more likely to be dialogue, and in many instances the company won't be involved in that conversation.
Networks
The predicted change is either coming or is already here. As with most change, the reasons for it will be obvious in retrospect. The catalysts for the move from traditional marketing will be twofold-
1. the dominant role of Networks and
2. the instant, mass, word of mouth communication via internet- based technologies.
As marketers have well known, word of mouth is the most powerful form of endorsement. The endorsement gains validity through history of interaction- either through personal knowledge or through imputed expertise (for example Greenpeace as arbiter of environmental standards). Even unknown on-line postings are trusted far more than on-line advertising. This communal validification will be able to be accessed instantly and can be used in the individual's interaction with Brands. In the past, a Brand's interaction was widely based on an individual's response, history and emotional interaction with that Brand. The Brand was able also to projected a desired image through Promotion- now the interaction can be influenced by Networks in real time.
Other implications include how influential individuals can be. Rating sites are inherently democratic- one person has one vote regardless of expertise, experience or power. To maintain their own credibility, the sites are also motivated to ensure 'fairness' i.e. excluding trolling (malicious postings or ratings designed to denigrate a Brand) and 'bots, computer programs design to artificially inflate ratings on sites. Individuals can be anonymous- who gives out their valued psychographic information on the internet?
However an individual can influence the Networks as well. Dave Carroll, a Canadian musician, was frustrated after a year of complaining to United Airlines that they had broken his US,500 Taylor guitar through mishandling. He recorded a song "United Breaks Guitars" and posted a humorous video clip accompanying it on YouTube. The clip, a viral hit, was viewed 150,000 times within the weekend of its launch and over 6 million times since. United Airlines' Brand reputation suffered enormously, and led some commentators to link it to a 10% share price fall (US0 million decline in market value).
Also, have you seen Google's Sidewiki yet? Your companies' website (and you) has nowhere to hide (and it's free!).
The power of the Network can be fast and have impact on Brands both positively and negatively. Most crucially they are beyond the power of an organisation to control or manage.
And if Sidewiki doesn't impress you, then have a look at tedTALKS Sixth Sense
Imagine the next logical step, when the SixthSense allows direct input into the web and Networks are informed instantly without typing.
Further empowering Networks is the preponderance of 'search' driving our decision making. Consumers are increasingly using search engines to discover and research Brands. Typing a description into a search engine can be as specific or general as the user desires. The results are defined by the search engines' algorithm, specific to that search engine. Google has 90% of Australia's search engine market and has nearly 10 million visits a month. Search and social media are becoming dominant forces in the marketing world:
· 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations (i.e. their Networks)
· 34% of bloggers post opinions about products & Brands (and there are over 200,000,000 blogs of who 54% post content or tweet daily)
· 25% of search results for the world's Top 20 largest Brands are links to user-generated content (i.e. not the official organisational Brand message)
These are just some of the stats I got from Eric Qualman's great clip you've probably already seen. His Socialnomics social media blog is full of good stuff like this.
Search is also evolving as people begin caring more about how their own social values ranks products and services than how Google ranks them via PageRank™. Thus the mysterious Google algorithm may soon be replaced by user generated rankings along any number of measures- sustainability, stance on political issues, popularity or obscurity- just to name a few. Either way, Google or other, a Brand will be found by the consumer when and where they want to and not via traditional Promotion.
In other words, consumers will have a need and then search Brands based on their criteria to fulfil it; completely opposite to traditional marketing approach of creating a need and then positioning their Brand as the solution.
Integral Brand Theory
So networks and new technologies are the catalyst- what's an outcome? I propose a new model of marketing that respects the traditions of marketing models prior to it (i.e. the 5 P's), but also addresses the brave new world. I call this model Integral Solution Perspectives or ISP for short. Traditionally big Brands meant bigger sales, which meant bigger budgets meaning bigger Promotion generating bigger sales leading to Brand growth. The concept of endless growth in a sustainable world is on the nose- even if it was really attainable at all.
The Network now means bigger (or most premium or popular etc.) is only one choice in an endless multitude of criteria defined by the consumer and not your organisation- and bigness itself may become a liability (as discovered by Krispy Kreme). Size is an ill-defined measure for non-material entities; one can measure the size of the brain, but not the size of an idea. The central premise is Brands get ISP when they concentrate on their depth rather than their size.
Brand Edges
Brands, as a mental model, have edges people typically interact with. To define the edges of a Brand, ask a question- What can't your Brand survive without? Or, what is a unique and exclusive component of your Brand? For all Brands, name is one, and Brand reputation is another. Search engines have increased the value of name- historically two same name Brands could exist (usually in two different countries). Now with global searches, two identical Brand names could cannibalise each other (or become a business opportunity- see when you misspell YouTube at utube.com). And due to the power of Networks and rating sites, reputation is no longer created, implied or developed at the agency, it is earned. Some powerful Brands have components which are unique, ranging from design elements, to packaging and catchphrases, but they are the lucky few. Ultimately your edge is defined by answering: What do people say about your brand (and you) when you are not in the room?
The Brand edge can't be considered fixed; in fact the frustration for marketing is a neat line will rarely be drawn around the Brand. Different contexts can now be shared instantaneously, and the companies' official line is just one in a sea of opinion. The edge must be considered fluid, and at differing depths dependant on the brand's reputation.
the old saying goes, what gets measured gets done. And many metrics for Brands focus on components outside the (more relevant) Brand edge. Market share, the marketing standard, is a measure of size, not brand reputation. Being 'Number 1' is not the be all and end all for judging a brand- in fact it may be a massive turn-off. Usage & Awareness (U&A) studies are also an estimate of how much a Brand is used and what word associations are linked with Brand. Again these do not measure which of these words are the most valuable. The power of judgement is with the consumer; their information is better for them and instantaneous, so looking outward is no longer the right idea. Spend more time looking inward.
The role of the consumer
A fundamental change is the consumer will decide the strength of relationship with your Brand. Interruption-based marketing will continue to infuriate those who want to decide how and when they will be interacted with. Brands that ignore the switch in the power relationship will continue to pay the price. Consumers will more and more decide their criteria for their lives. They will then search to discover Brands that meet those criteria (using technology and information that squarely deliver the advantage to them).
As written recently in MediaHunter Blog:
"That's why in 2010 I believe that the smart marketer will begin spending a lot more time crafting relevant messages aimed at engaging their potential customer. They'll begin buying their media in niche channels to reach a more targeted audience. They'll re-think their online presence, dump the brochure style website and begin a dialogue. They'll optimise and then deliver the information customers really want.
We're about to enter the decade of inbound marketing, engagement and relevance.
Stop interrupting".
The role of the Brand manager
Speculation that marketing (as we know it) is dead, leads to the next question- what do marketers do? Some argue that engagement is the key- "involving customers in all communications". Others see Brand managers morphing into Brand advocates, "responsible for rapid adaptations of global brand platforms and programs, charging centralized global brand strategists with ensuring what local managers do conforms with the brand equity and strategy". (???).
The classics of marketing will still be the start of your workday- now you will be required to do more. Brand management implies a level of control that no longer exists as consumers (not brand managers) control relevance and reputation now.
So what can a marketer do?
Marketers of the future will:
1. Interrogate
a. There's more data than ever before, turn it something valuable
b. People in your business will have incredible, unvalued ideas, release it with them
c. Scan the environment for anticipating and responding to social media commentary as it happens
2. Agitate
a. Stop outsourcing planning, creativity, research, design, strategy, engagement and permission- they are the marketer's job (not the agency)
b. Convince the business to start the ideas that have 3 year pay-off now (when they aren't as viable)
c. Anticipate several different futures and be able to react to their emergence
3. Reiterate
a. Test constantly what the brand stands for & ask genuinely is that right?
b. Look inward to a brand's components- it's attributes that it can be judged on
c. Design with intention, with purpose that which makes your brand 'denser'
d. Learn from your testing and share the experience widely (even with consumers)
4. Integrate
a. Do what's expected better than expected
b. Identify when to persist and when to move on to next opportunity
Traditionally the role of the Brand manager has been to communicate (to express thoughts, feelings, or information easily or effectively). And it's still important to initially craft your messages on packaging, websites, PR release etc.
Thus the new reality requires dialogue (to carry on a conversation with two or more entities), a skill that is remarkably lacking in this legalistic, political and management double-speak world (check out any book by Don Watson for numerous examples).
The 5 D's
1. Brand Destiny
Brand Planning is static, and by definition backwards focused. Despite ever more data, and complex modelling, Brand plans focus solely on a single, preferred future. To use a metaphor, this is much like navigating at sea by looking down at a map, looking up only at the time of (hoped for) destination. A much more effective method is to look to the stars (a fixed point or destiny) and make adjustments to the ever changing environment (the sea or business conditions).
Brand vision gets a bad rap- and quite right too. When your brand is in two way interaction with consumers- what you (as the Brand manager) think is pretty much irrelevant.
Brand Destiny has a problem- it's hard work. Mobile goaling will replace fixed targets. As P&G executive Marc Pritchard described their budget and planning process as "budget flux has become something of a way of life, too. The volatility of the marketplace has really caused has have a look at things on a monthly minimum, sometimes on a weekly and daily basis".
Your Destiny needs to be:
1. Intentional, purposeful and explicit
2. Differentiated
3. Novel & talkable
4. Organisational inclusive & embraced by employees
5. Contemplating several different futures concurrently
6. Energising
As Seth Godin says, to create sustainable competitive advantage:
· You can own something that's hard to copy (like real estate).
· You can race down the pricing and scale curve, so it's cheaper for you to do what you do because you have a head start.
· You can create switching costs, so that the hassle and cost of moving to a cheaper competitor is so great, it's just not worth it.
· You can build a network (which can take many forms--natural monopolies are organizations where the market is better off when there's only one of you).
· You can build a brand (shorthand for relationships, beliefs, trust, permission and word of mouth).
· You can create a constantly innovating organization where extraordinary employees thrive
As I have been saying, the 5 D's aren't instead of other marketing theory; it is as well as other marketing theory. Brand Destiny is simply required most required for the last point most of all.
2. Brand Density
The depth to which a Brand understands and explores its impact on differing, multiple and ever expanded consumer values.
Brand Density is continually, introspectively questioning how dense (or deep) your Brand components are. What's the carbon footprint? Price relative to competition? Water usage? Labour practices? Customer satisfaction ratings? Recyclability? Facebook comments? Historical issues?
Due to instant & mobile information consumers will have a greater capacity to judge Brands on their numerous criteria- even at point of sale. Retailers are getting into the act- Wal-Mart's worldwide sustainable product index for example.
Do you know where your Brand stands on the issues? Is that adequate enough? Is it relevant? Are the criteria continually being improved? Are they widely understood? Who is 'in charge' of Brand Density?
Brand Density does not imply introspectiveness and isolation from the consumer. Indeed, understanding what consumers deem important is highly relevant. Brand reputation is the most valuable commodity a Brand has and we in marketing continue to kid ourselves that we control it. Managing reputation is beyond the organisational span of control.
3. Brand Design
My colleague Bridgette Engeler Newbury gets big D Design. She challenges traditional design thinking by saying: "Creativity (design) is no longer the sole territory of a separate 'creative class'". (Much like marketing is "too important to be left to the marketing department").
Also, "Good Brand Design creates curiosity while engaging its audience in a meaningful way. It also conveys the intentions and trustworthiness of the organisation behind the Brand. A Brand should enhance people's experience, while allowing them to create their own special meaning. It is designed to be a catalyst and guide. We talk about creating the look and feel of a brand, and the feelings that it drives as a strategic and integral part of the customer's realisation of value".
From the look and feel of a website, through to a Brand's visual identity, Design can move from rigid definition, to embracing multiple perspectives. Crowdsourcing design (where Brands post creative briefs direct to the Networks, which then competes for a small prize to be integrated into a Brand) and similar concepts are already in full flight.
Design is about making intent real, purposeful, desired and sustainable.
4. Brand Desire
In Australia, the price of petrol is a contentious issue. Petrol retailers are accused of collusion, as price patterns follow a regularly weekly pattern, and petrol prices in local areas are suspiciously consistent. The 2007 ACCC investigation into unleaded petrol pricing detected no illegal activity such as price fixing at retail level. They note:
1) The electronic subscription service, Informed Sources, is used by the major players in the retail market to give them access on a virtual real time basis, to information about prices being charged by every retail outlet that competes with their own
2) This information-sharing arrangement gives them enormous advantage over consumers
3) If one of the big retailers wants to raise prices, they have sufficient virtual real time information to understand what their competitors' response will be-they can deal with it very quickly and adjust their pricing accordingly
4) This would seem to reduce incentives to decrease prices
5) It is better to wait for a competitor to move
No replace the word petrol with any other product. And give the info (for free) to any consumer. Change the retail dynamic?
The instant access to Networks, even at the point of purchase, removes the traditional control of retailers regarding price information and value assessment.
Consumers will know if the deal is real.
For retailers, they will have cheap access to the same information and will be forced into comparable pricing.
Suppliers will be pressured into unilateral discounting. And price will become smoothed & therefore irrelevant.
So what will price obsessed consumers, retailers and suppliers have to focus on?
Brand Desire.
Consumers will now make choices " in terms of fulfilling needs, desires and self-perceptions...doing things they envision being good for themselves...recognising hedonism, aspirations, comfort zones and incentives". Behaviour will not be easily short-handed by price, rather the more complex emotional interplay described above. As most consumers would be hard pressed to recognise this in themselves, what hope do Brands have in researching this? Knowing thyself is now the premium marketing skill.
. Brand Delight
The Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey (2009) of over 25,000 online consumers from 50 countries found "recommendations by personal acquaintances and opinions posted by consumers online are the most trusted forms of advertising globally. 90% of online consumers worldwide trust recommendations from people they know, while 70% trust consumer opinions posted online."
In reaction, a company's focus must shift from "the offering of a set of products and services, to a mindset of delivering Delight". The achievement of Brand Delight reinforces the previous D's plus the importance of getting and staying noticed:
1. Develop a clear identity
2. Offer a relevant benefit
3. Appeal to emotions
4. Help consumers remember what you stand for
5. Penetrate 'noise' barrier
6. Be all you say you are
7. Over-deliver on promises
8. Teach consumers to be your ambassadors
So how to justify your wage? A Brand must proactively seek to improve itself in many different ways so that consumers, when judging a Brand, by their self appointed criteria, approve of the content of its character rather than the colour of its logo (with apologies to Dr Martin Luther King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech). Your job is to get that happening.
Now that's table-stakes. You must address Density as well, making sure your reputation (or image) is consistent throughout the interior of the Brand. The other D's (Destiny, Design, Desire and Delight), are also required to align like the Rubik's cube 360. Your success will be apparent by how adequate the Networks judge you. The more dense, the more value to consumers and therefore the increased likelihood of positive recommendation in the Networks.
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