Transcription
Simply, BetterBrand PurposeWhy brands need to be SuperheroesIpsos ASI UK February 2015
Brand Purpose: Why brandsneed to be SuperheroesToday’s digitally driven world is oftendescribed as “the new normal” butto succeed today, brands need to beSimply, BetterBrand Purpose: Why brands need to be Superheroesbetter than normal. They need to be75% of citizensaround the globethink the worldis changing tooquickly. More thanhalf wish they couldslow down the paceof their livesSuperheroes:1 Driven by a clear Purpose2 A force for good3 Fast & agilePhil ShawT: 44 (0) 7977 196172E: phil.shaw@ipsos.comTechnology is disruptingbusiness models andchanging behaviours andattitudesThe average lifespan of acompany listed in the S&P 500index of leading US companieshas decreased by more than 50years in the last century, from 67years in the 1920s to just 15 yearstoday, according to the BBC1.In the past 10 years, Apple’sshare price has increased over2400% from 5 to almost 120.By contrast, Nokia’s share priceat the time the iPhone launchedwas close to 40 and 5 yearslater was 1.71 – a drop ofalmost 95%.It’s not just technologymanufacturers that are affected.Amazon has transformed retail;Uber is changing the face ofthe taxi business; AirBnB isrevolutionising the hotel andaccommodation industry; Spotifyis transforming the face ofmusic; PayPal, Apple Pay andGoogle Wallet are changing theway we manage our money – thelatter now allows you to sendmoney by email And it’s not just businesses thatare affected, people feel it too.Ipsos’ Global Trends Survey(GTS) found that 75% of citizensaround the globe think the worldis changing too quickly and morethan half wish they could slowdown the pace of their lives.So how can brandssucceed in a hypercompetitive world ofdisruptive innovation?Brands cannot succeed withoutadapting quickly as Nokia,Kodak, Borders Books, HMVand others can attest. Instead,brands need think and act likesuperheroes:Simply, BetterBrand Purpose: Why brands need to be SuperheroesIt’s not enough to be normal
1Driven by a clear PurposeA Brand Purpose is a reason for being. It’s why a company or brandexists and the ethos drives it, defined in a way that provides clarityand simplicity. It goes beyond product benefits, brand positioning andbusiness objectives. Purpose is the intersection between a business’values and beliefs and those of the people it serves.Simply, BetterBrand Purpose: Why brands need to be SuperheroesA Brand Purpose should:1Provide a focal point for thebusiness that guides everythingit does2Benefit people’s lives and theworld around us3Inspire employees and customers4Promote game-changinginnovation that looks beyond thecurrent product portfolio anddrives future growth5Be constant and impermeable toshort-term demandsMany of the world’s biggestcompanies have embraced theconcept of Brand Purpose andare orienting their brands aroundit. Unilever’s CEO, Paul Polman,has committed the companyto a sustainable growth model,saying: “In the next 15 years,we as a generation have theopportunity to be the peoplewho eradicate poverty in ameaningful and sustainable way.”The company’s brands are nowfocused around purposes thatbenefit people’s lives, e.g: Dove: celebrate everywoman’s unique beautyPurpose is theintersectionbetween abusiness’ valuesand beliefs andthose of thepeople it serves.It’s not just Unilever, IBM areseeking to ‘Build a smarterplanet’, Innocent is focused onhelping people to ‘Live well,die old’, Pampers’s Purpose isto ‘Help mothers care for theirbabies and toddlers’ healthy,happy development’, Visa’s isto ‘Provide freedom to peopleto follow their passions’ andPetrobras aims to ‘Supportsustainable development in Braziland beyond’.Purpose provides focus andunites employees in pursuing acommon goal. It deters activitiesthat spread resources too thinly orin the wrong places. At the sametime it allows companies to thinkbeyond product and innovate inmore meaningful ways:I f Nike had focused on beinga manufacturer of runningshoes, instead of “bringinginspiration and innovation toevery athlete”, it would neverhave become the powerfulforce it is today in fashionand leading edge fitnesstechnology.Source: www.pampers.co.uk/newborn-neonatal-care Lifebuoy soap: bring healthand hygiene to a billion peopleSource: Axe: make love not warSource: www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/uk/en If Apple’s Purpose hadbeen to make better homecomputers, instead of“empowering creativity andself-expression”, it wouldnever have developed theiPod, iPhone or iPad.Is purpose profitable?The oldest company in the worldis believed to be Nissiyama OnsenKeiunkan, a hotel in Japan thatwas established in 705 AD. Thereare several other companies inJapan that have been aroundfor more than 1,000 years andanother 20,000 that are more than100 years old. Professor MakotoKanda, of Meiji Gakuin University,has studied these businesses andsays their longevity is because“they focus on a central beliefor credo that is not tied solely tomaking a profit”1.Simply, BetterBrand Purpose: Why brands need to be SuperheroesWhat is a Brand Purpose?
2The data from today’s business world suggests that it doesn’t have tobe a choice, Purpose can also drive the bottom line. Unilever’s shareprice has risen over 80% since Paul Polman took over as CEO in 2009and Dove’s “campaign for real beauty” has challenged culture andconvention and helped grow annual sales from 2.5bn to 4bn2.Simply, BetterBrand Purpose: Why brands need to be SuperheroesBroader evidence also suggests that brands with Purpose overperform on financial measures compared to those without.56%46%NoBrand PurposeBrand Purpose56% of companies with aBrand Purpose outperform theircompetitors’ revenue growth,compared with just 46% of thosewithout a Purpose, according toa study published in the HarvardBusiness Review3.63% of over-performingcompanies agree “wecontinuously engage ourcustomers around our Brand’sPurpose” and 60% of overperformers agree “in our companywe ensure all employees are fullyengaged in our Brand Purpose”,according the Association ofNational Advertisers4.Broaderevidencealso suggeststhat brandswith Purposeover-performon financialmeasurescomparedto thosewithout.So why can being a force forgood be a successful brandstrategy?Simplicity and clarity ofPurpose strengthens thebrand in consumers’ mindsIpsos GTS data shows that almosthalf of people say they “oftenfeel overwhelmed by the choicesI have as a consumer” and 61%wish life could be simpler. We justhaven’t the time to consider everydecision in detail and our mindsare wired to avoid this.Consequently, brands are nowunderstood to be heuristics forchoice – a shortcut for easydecision making. Under-pinningthese heuristics is a networkof thoughts, feelings, images,associations, colours, symbols,memories and desires that eachperson has about a brand fromexperiences of usage, exposureto communications, word-ofmouth and so forth.The simplicity and consistencyof Purpose can help to nurtureand reinforce the brand in theconsumer’s mind to ensure thatit comes readily to mind in thesituations and moments thatmatter (whether that be at pointof purchase or earlier in theconsumer decision journey).People desire brands moreif they do goodAt Ipsos we use a measure of thebrand relationship that is simpleand intuitive and reflects thatbrands are heuristics for decisionmaking. Attitudinal Equity (AE)uses just two questions andmeasures the strength of desirethat each consumer has for everybrand in a given category and isclosely correlated with real worldmarket share.Almost half ofpeople saythey “often feeloverwhelmed by thechoices I have as aconsumer”.61% wish life couldbe simpler.Our analysis across 17categories in the UK, France,USA, China, Poland, Russiaand Mexico shows that whilefunctional performance (quality)is a driver of brand desire, it’s notenough to succeed. The brandsthat people want to use and buyare those that build emotionalconnections through integrity,clarity and leadership whichresults in social approval.Simply, BetterBrand Purpose: Why brands need to be SuperheroesA force for good
3Fast and agileRight time right moment programmatic and data drivenmarketing delivered with moreprecision to reach the rightaudiences at the right moment inthe consumer journeySocial & mobile - engagingpeople in new ways fromconversations in social topersonalised offersMore interactive - creatingdeeper brand relationshipsthrough more interactive,immersive, informative andentertaining formats Sharing & social amplification –extending the reach of compellingcontent across social networksand audiences to generateearned media While speed and agilityis essential, brands mustalso ensure that they don’tadopt a short-term mindset.Fast innovation and agilemarketing needs to beguided by a clear Purposethat defines and directs whatthe brand wants to be.Highly compelling content more media choices and multiscreening means brandedcontent must be highlycompelling to gain attentionFaster insights - more access todata (behavioural, analytic, social)means consumer feedback andinsights can be generated fasterand accelerate innovationWithout Purpose, innovationcan lead to the tyranny ofendless incremental productline extensions or marketingthat focuses on short-termfireworks that burn brightly andare quickly forgotten, insteadof guided arrows that aim at aclearly defined objective andcontribute to a bigger strategy.Case Study: AlwaysP&G’s Always is a great exampleof a Purpose driven brandthat achieves this. The brand’sPurpose is to help womenembrace womanhood. Thelatest expression of this is the#likeagirl campaign, which takesan agile approach that puts it atthe heart of social conversationby challenging what it means toact #likeagirl.The campaign contrasted howadults have become conditionedto limit their expectations of whatgirls can achieve with the realityof what young girls actuallycan do. A simple big idea wasbrilliantly executed to deliver: Emotionally compellingcontent that peoplewanted to engage withand share 50m YouTube views withintwo months of launch News coverage anddebate online andacross tabloid andbroadsheet press Online content targetedto reach women at themoment when theyneeded it, includingperiod calculators,advice and contenttailored by lifestage Real time marketing,such as tweets during theSuper Bowl congratulatingthe winning team onplaying #likeagirlSimply, BetterBrand Purpose: Why brands need to be SuperheroesSimply, BetterBrand Purpose: Why brands need to be SuperheroesTo avoid being left behind, brands need to innovate quickly inproducts and services that tangibly improve consumer’s lives.Supported by agile and innovative marketing that adopts a testand learn approach to take advantage of the real time data andopportunities that digital offers to get closer to the consumer:
Ask not what marketing can dofor you ask what you can dofor others “Consumers’ noseshave evolved, theycan smell a fraudand will blog aboutthe smell.Image has to berooted in a brand’sidentity rather thanbeing somethingcreated or marketedas a discrete entityin itself.”As Adam Morgan said in ‘Eatingthe Big Fish’: “Consumers’noses have evolved, they cansmell a fraud and will blog aboutthe smell. An image rooted inidentity is the difference betweenreality and marketing posture.It always has to be rooted in abrand’s identity rather than beingsomething created or marketedas a discrete entity in itself.”Sources:What should your BrandPurpose be?Me – do you meet my needs?Central to Purpose is authenticity,which means Purpose must becredible and founded in thevalues and heritage of thecompany. It needs to stand thetest of time and define who youare and what you do.It also needs to connect andresonate with the values andconcerns of your consumersand employees. Brands witha Purpose that feels too distantfrom people’s everyday livesmay struggle to create thoseconnections. A strong Purposewill relate to people in all theirspheres of concern:1. bbc.co.uk/news/business-166110402. y-aging/291216/3. hbr.org/2014/07/the-ultimate- My world – are you helping myfriends and family? The world – what are you doingfor the world we live in?The successful brands of thefuture will be fast and agileSuperheroes, guided by a clearand simple Purpose that resonateswith consumers at every level.It also needs toconnect andresonate withthe values andconcerns ofyour customersand employeesmarketing-machine4. Association of National Advertisers,Inc.Simply, BetterBrand Purpose: Why brands need to be SuperheroesSimply, BetterBrand Purpose: Why brands need to be SuperheroesWe live in world of Wikileaks,activist bloggers and directaction, where green-washingdoesn’t work. Today’s consumersare more media savvy than everand social media has fuelled andfacilitated the exposure of brandswho get it wrong or fail to beauthentic.
At Ipsos ASI UK, we believe advertising and communications research should be fertiliser,not weedkiller, and a force for empowering creativity and building stronger brands.Using iterative, flexible approaches, we empower our clients to find a big idea that’s universal,and founded on human motivations.We help brands to develop strategies that grow their business by using forward-looking measuresof brand relationships that link to real-world behaviour – measures that are simple and intuitiveand reflect that brands are heuristics for decision making.Using neuroscientific techniques, such as Facial Coding and Biometrics, we enable our clientsto understand and strengthen the emotional response to their advertising. We derive the impactof advertising on the brand – not by asking people how it affects them - and by revealingunderlying and subconscious brand perceptions through Implicit Reaction Time (IRT) tests.We help brands make campaigns that become famous by evaluating the potential of theiractivity to achieve virality through measures t
and Dove’s “campaign for real beauty” has challenged culture and convention and helped grow annual sales from 2.5bn to 4bn2. Broader evidence also suggests that brands with Purpose over-perform on financial measures compared to those without. 56% of companies with a Brand Purpose outperform their competitors’ revenue growth,
