look on the bright side
Having made about 30 trips in the past four years to countries such as France, Belgium, Japan, Singapore and the United States, Jonathon Sands, Chairman of brand id consultancy Elmwood, told the AMI annual conference in Melbourne there is opportunity in disaster — like the invention of Mickey Mouse and sliced bread during the Great Depression on 1929.
In times of war, innovation increases a hundred fold. And in business terms, we’re in a world war” says UK based Sands.
“ We can’t spend our way to market share so we have to think our way to market share.” Sands says his colourful baggy check pants, dubbed his ‘strategic flying trousers’ are the first lesson for marketing during a downturn - standing out.
“ Jenny Garcia said ‘it’s no longer good enough to be the best of the best, you have to be the only people who do what you do’. And in the next five years that’s absolutely true…. your margins will be small, and only one brand can be cheapest
so the rest have to do something differently”
He says consumers are hardwired to notice the difference and in a climate of fear, will gravitate towards brands that connect with positive emotions.
“ The most successful brands I’ve seen around the world make people smile,”
says Sands.
Serious is out, fun is in
Case in point is one of Elmwood’s own clients, a small sewage business that increased its business from UK$2 million to UK$3 million a month after it re-branded with the name serious ****, and some cheeky slogans like ***t happens.
Elmwood’s chief warns the ‘serious’ mood is out, with consumers fed up with brands preaching about corporate social responsibility.
“ One of the things that is definitely not working in the UK is promoting the fact you’re a good corporate citizen. It’s trying to be too authentic, too righteous. Consumers aren’t stupid these days. They expect you to do the right thing. And if you try and tell them ‘thou protest too much’. So we’re seeing a massive backlash to people promoting themselves as being really good organizations”
Sands says one of the ways to overcome corporate cynicism is through the use of cartoons as emblems, a practice widely used in Japan to embody trust.
The Anti-Marketing Brigade
Other companies are finding success with anti-marketing strategies that humanise and demystify products. In America, wine retailer Wegmans allowed its buyers to take happy snaps of themselves on their wine buying tour in Chile, which were used to market wines at the point-of-sale.
“ It showed them getting really plastered and having a good time, with hand written notes of why you should try this and what food it would work with. Wine is a really difficult category to buy into because it’s all about personal taste and this worked really well because it demystified the fixture.”
Sands says the $2500 Tata Nano car from India is an example of the pressure on prices, which marketers need to be aware of going forward. For Australian exporters, more efficient packaging could be the answer — Ikea for example invented an L-shaped box for a lamp stand, which saved them 30% on shipping fees.
With global anxiety about money, terrorism and disease, retro brands that remind us of a simpler and safer time are also finding favour, like Converse and Mini Cooper. Sands calls it the ‘contemporary nostalgia’ trend, which is providing a remedy for stress.
“ The key is how we escape and have the antidotes to anxiety. A restaurant in New York has the tagline: ‘Make Food, Not War’. It’s about getting people to slow down and feel more relaxed”
Source
Author: Katie Cincotta
Professional Marketing Magazine (Jan — Mar 2009)
www.ami.org.au
