Branding, Trust and the Empowered Consumer:why our brands must be SOCIAL

2009 WORLD BRAND CONGRESSERIC WEAVER

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“Does it last longer than a quarter?”

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“How the hell did my dream job turn into THIS???”

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Let’s step back and look at the business of connecting brands to customers.

The Outbound Marketing Machine◼ A $1TT global

machine◼ Each niche = a full

industry◼ Rewarded for

storytelling / intrusion / repetition

◼ Brand value spread and equity built over time, through the outbound machine

◼ Pretty much unchanged for 150 yrs

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Monolithic branding

◼ Limited product choice

◼ Limited media channels

◼ Longer brand interactions

◼ Higher barriers to entry

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Monolithic branding

◼ Limited product choice

◼ Limited media channels

◼ Longer brand interactions

◼ Higher barriers to entry

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Monolithic branding

◼ Limited product choice

◼ Limited media channels

◼ Longer brand interactions

◼ Higher barriers to entry

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The waning power of the Outbound Voice:

US ad spend plunges 14.2%; only online posts growth. (TNS Media Intelligence, 2009)

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Four cultural trends are killing the outbound marketing model.

CHANGE #1: trust is being challenged, particularly in the US.

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Global recession = impact to trust in business.

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CHANGE #2: time starvation, micro-niche interests, endlessly-customizable media options, expecting free information

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GOOGLE: the front door◼ SEARCH: people, products,

info, media I care about◼ EXPRESSION via blogs,

opinion sites, ratings◼ SHARING what we like, or

hate

Which means, generally, consumers don’t need advertising, marketing or PR (TimeToRethink)

MARKETERS

MEDIA

EMPLOYEES

CUSTOMERS BLOGGERS

TRADE ORGS

INVESTORS

ANALYSTS

GOVERNMENT

CHANGE #3:THE NEW

CACOPHONY.

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CHANGE #4: people turn to PEERS when risk is high, more choices to review, less time for research.

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Who are the credible people giving me company/product info? HIGHEST: 47% trust their peers. LOWEST: 13% trust marketers. 2009 EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER

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Trust isn’t just influential, it’s widely shared. 56% age 35-64, 63% 25-34 share trust/distrust on the web. 2008 EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER

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Trust drives preference91% choose to buy from companies they trust, 77% refuse the distrusted.2009 EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER

Bottom line: TRUST DRIVES TRANSACTIONS.

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CONSUMERS WANT PROOF OF YOUR INTENTIONS: “How much more would you trust a company for taking these actions?”2009 EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER

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Growing revenue is not about clever taglines, elegant identities, or being loudest. It’s not about the latest shiny object.

REVENUE COMES FROM PEOPLE TRUSTING YOU.

So build a trust strategy into your brand. Where are you trusted? Where are you distrusted?Which brand attributes build trust and which don’t?Think through proof points and executional steps to create them.

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DON’T KILL TRUST THROUGH INTRUSION. Don’t interrupt search. Be found/referred. Don’t talk about value, demonstrate it.

SOCIAL CHANNELS LET YOU BUILD PROOF POINTS. Offer proof you know your stuff, you have a vision for sector/market, that others took a chance & benefitted; that you are ethical, easy, trustworthy, fun! Proof = trust.

EMPOWER OTHERS TO SPREAD THEIR TRUST IN YOU. Give customers a voice. Amplify their words. Make sharing their trust in your value effortless.

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Trust killerLook for and target your organization’s trust soft-spots. Rebuild trust there with proof points. Take fodder from conspiracy theorists.

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Trust killer

Trust killer

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Building trust socially

BEFORE: Starbucks was slow to adopt social media. This was what people found.

AFTER: Proof of interest in listening to consumers. 75k ideas in 6 mos.

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AFTER: Starbucks demonstrates commitment through partners

BEFORE: consumer-generated brand hate.

Remember, search loves conversation and extends across time.

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AFTER: customer service superstars

BEFORE: quiet branding, low relevance to new customer base.

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AFTER: trust generated, 2300 new accounts, $4 million.

PROOF OF INTENTION: leveraging social causes to focus conversation (and brand) on giving back.

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Final thoughts

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What’s the one area we can impact?

Source: Agent Wildfire

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We need strong brands, more now than ever

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BOOMERS = propriety. Trained in formalities, don’t offend, guarded means safe, not so great with “random.” Suit & tie = trust.

GENS X&Y = affinity. Formalities ignored, sharing means finding, tech is easy, random is life. Consider your lens. Suit & tie = distrust.

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NOT SOME INSIGNIFICANT FAD. Google gave us search. Social media gives us sharing, connecting.

SHARING MEANS BEING FOUND. Google is the front door. If you don’t share, you’re not found.

NOT “ONE MORE THING TO DO.” This is reconstructing your brand to leverage consumer power. (How’d that last trade show budget work out?)

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EXAMINE YOUR LENS. your branding architecture, strategy and approach from a prospective of trust and with a social lens.

OFFER PROOF POINTS. Demonstrate your knowledge, your vision and trustworthiness.

ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY “ACTIVATE” around a cause, around a problem, or around a controversy that involves your offering.

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Social activationWomen across India gifted pink panties to Sri Ram Sene to protest the violence against women in the Mangalore pub. The Pink Chaddi campaign attracted 34,032 members and counting — making it one of the most memorable socially-activated campaigns in India.

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NAMASTEme: twitter.com/weave company: tribalddb.caslides: slideshare.net/weavein Mumbai: max@tribalddbindia.com

About Tribal DDB

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A worldwide network of tribes

◼ 53 full-service offices◼ 25 countries◼ 1,500 people

Services

◼ Digital brand strategy◼ Customer experience design◼ Usability◼ Interactive advertising◼ Media planning & buying◼ Social network/community design◼ Community cultivation (RadarDDB)◼ Search engine marketing◼ Engagement analytics

Expertise

◼ Web◼ Mobile/iPhone◼ Interactive interfaces◼ Kiosks◼ GPS

Platforms

Some North American clients