NORTHERN PLANNER

One of the oldest, and probably most boring, debates in this business is the endless arguments over the merits of 'brand ads', especially in the context of 'product' ads. You know, ads that are described as purely focused on how people feel about an organisation v ads that focus on something to with the product.

Like most 'it's black, no it's white' arguments, the answer is really sometimes it's white, sometimes it's black and sometimes it's grey.

That's because the fundamentals of strategy remain the same. Where are we now? Where could we be? What do we need to do to get there? That's it.

What's the fundamental challenge we need to overcome and how do we overcome it?

Sometimes the problem is image, sometimes the problem is what people know or don't know about the product or service. 'Brand' or 'image up' campaigns are not always wrong, but they're not always right. Nor or are  'product attribute' campaigns. It all depends on where you are now and where you need to be.

For example, once upon a time, Skoda had an image problem. Hence stuff like this:

 

But when enough people didn't have a problem considering a Skoda, not enough went on to test drive because they didn't know enough about the cars themselves. Leading to stuff like this:

 

Now, let's look at the first ad again. A 'brand' ad according to common parlance. It wasn't as simple as that, it never is.

There were more than enough people who didn't have a problem with Skoda's image. What was getting in the way of them considering a Skoda was the grief they would get from the majority of the population who DID. In other words, this wasn't a vacuous 'brand ad' it was work that addressed a specific problem that was blocking sales..THAT HAPPENED TO BE MORE TO DO WITH IMAGE THAT PRODUCT QUALITY. So the solution wasn't to address attitudes head on, it was to collude with the people who thought Skoda was OK and gently make fun of the people who didn't get it yet. More sophisticated than that, Skoda made fun of itself too and positioned Skoda owners as smart, informed reasonable people. 

A 'traditional' brand ad with a sweeping manifesto about the company's vision wouldn't have had the same commercial effect, because the problem wasn't what potential buyers though of Skoda, it's what others people would think of them.

But both ads reward your attention, they make you, or me at least, want to talk about them, they make you feel something about Skoda.

That's the real truth about brand ads and stuff. Sometimes you have to address something specific about a company or product image, sometimes you have address something to do with how people use a product, what they know about it or what they think they know about it. Sometimes it's black, sometimes it's white.

But if every piece of communication doesn't build how people feel about the brand, if it doesn't make you feel something and cut through, it's a waste. Because we remember how we felt a longer than we remember what we were told. We don't think about brands and stuff very often and make decisions on emotion far more than marketers realise or admit, and more than we can admit to ourselves. So sometimes, in fact, all of the time, it's grey. It's just what shade is right for right now. 

It's rare that the problem or opportunity is purely 'image', usually, it's about showcasing something about how it's used, made or features about it in way that, not only cannot be missed, it continues to build the correct, unique, positive feelings about it.

This is a 'product' ad for Nokia. But it does a hell of a lot more than tell me about how the product works.

 

All of this campaign is based on the product and who actually buys it, namely how it smells and the fact women buy it for their men.

 

This campaign is based on new product news – it now curls and flicks as well as straightens hair.

 

One final thought. This is lovely work from Ikea.

 

You could argue this is the 'brand led' curtain raiser to more product focused stuff like this:

 

But it does a lot more than re-position Ikea as the place to come to create a happier home (rather than the unvalued place for disposable throwaway furniture it was becoming) it showcases the store and the products available.

More importantly, it does the 'brand thing' in a different way. Rather than the usual, sort of self-obsessed,  'Do things our way' manifesto thingy, you know. 'Just Do it', 'Think Different' it's more of an offer, an experience, an invitation into a particular kind of world you might like to be part of. 'Happy Inside'.