nothing is Indispensable (especially a brand)

Illustrator Harry Grant Dart’s vision of the increasingly aggressive and intrusive character of advertising in turn-of-the-century America appeared in a 1909 issue of Life. During this period, the growth of mass production and mass marketing changed the way consumer goods were bought and sold. Information about products now came not from those who made or sold them, but from persuasive advertisements trying to create brand recognition and brand loyalty. Advertisements moved out of separate sections in the back of magazines, as the newest periodicals featured full-page ads and depended upon advertising, rather than subscriptions, for their revenue. Coordinated advertising campaigns using billboards, store displays, and electric signs, became common.

I am not sure if this is a rant or a diatribe. But. I read something the other day about making brands indispensable.

Okay. Let’s talk about indispensable. Sure. Many great traditions dictate some “indispensable” actions.

Getting married and diamonds.

New Years Eve and alcohol.

Love and flowers.

Emotional traditions are the strongest links to indispensable.

How about functional indispensables?

Water. Food. And beer (to college kids).

An indispensable brand? (harrumph. Bet you haven’t seen that in awhile)

To me … to believe you can make your brand indispensable is pure & simple marketing arrogance.

You can make it useful.

You can intertwine it in a positive way into the lives of people.

You can even make people emotional about it.

Indispensable? To the wacky few maybe (yeah. We have all seen that guy who only buys Coke apparel and products for his family every Christmas. And maybe the pez connoisseur.) But don’t be fooled by these fanatical few. You love ‘em as a manufacturer (oops, brand). But you can’t build a brand around them. In fact in some cases you hesitate to make too big deal about them.

Brands become “brands” because a certain group of people have deigned to anoint your product as such.

And the most loyal of this group are probably “head over heels in like” with you.

I purposefully use like here.

In today’s world “brand love” is not a common thing (maybe in the 50’s when people had fewer choices and no internet to create educational doubt). The best it seems to get resides “in like.” What that means is the brand is not even close to being indispensable; rather it is always one mistake away from “I like you but I want to date other people.”

So how do you remain “a head over heels in like brand”?

First and foremost. Usefulness.

Yup. Pretty functional <and boring> but pretty essential. Some marketing expert folks call this the ‘price-value equation.’ Whatever. Just be clear about this. The moment your brand does not meet use expectations it has become dispensable. And people just won’t like you any more <that is bad>. That is why I made this first and foremost.

Second. Equal emotional engagement, i.e., do you like me as much as I like you?

True brands have emotional things attached to the functional usefulness. To make it an ongoing relationship both sides have to communicate the emotion. Buyers do it with dollars and displaying your logo. Sellers do it … well … with whatever may match the emotional relationship.

Here is what I mean (let me be a guy for a moment). While I could give “things” to someone I date all the time nothing trumps a good “hey … I love you” in words. Oh.  And the love is reciprocated in some way. Hey. Does that mean all gifts (i.e., loyalty programs, promotions, etc.) are unnecessary? Nope. It’s balance. Buyers & sellers need some balance to maintain the emotional aspect of the relationship. Gifts are part of it and words are part of it and … well .. just as with any relationship … there is are lots of moving parts. But both have to believe it is worth it and it’s not just ‘wooing’ (I wanted to type that word) by the seller all the time.

Hey.

If you read any of my other stuff you will see a strong thread of “dreamer” (or belief in aspirational) objectives in my belief infrastructure. I like thinking big <personally and in business>. I like dreaming. And believe it has value in organizational management. But, with ‘brands? I just struggle with “indispensable.”

No. I do not struggle … I just do not buy it.

Just a last thought on this.

I do think of brands as marriages.

Think of it this way … in a ‘courting phase’ I believe it is unhealthy for one to try and make themselves look indispensable in seeking a long term relationship. In addition I also tend to believe if one partner purposefully seeks to be indispensable in a relationship it is unhealthy.

Great marriages are some give and take. Some communication. Some respect. And the understanding that you are “right” for each other and imperfections … well … can make it a perfect fit.

And I also believe the moment one partner feels indispensable things are out of whack. But, hey, I am no Dr. Phil. And I am no “Brand Expert.” This is just my opinion.