Monday 29 April 2013

A new way

I was flicking through a well thumbed copy of The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding and re-read the short chapter on The Law of Contraction. The authors expand on their thinking that great things happen when businesses and brands narrow their focus and give several examples of brands who have achieved great success by following this principle.

The basic premise for those who have not read the book is that by narrowing our focus we can either create a new category like Stolichnaya did with premium vodka or become synonymous with the category think submarine sandwiches and Subway.

Any way this got me thinking about how agencies could follow the law of contraction in a new and interesting way. We all know that the over whelming majority of work produced by agencies is for existing or potential clients but what would happen if an agency contracted its client focus to zero - crazy right.

Well at first hearing this idea sounds like financial suicide, agencies have viewed their reason for being through the client prism since time out of mind. Clients bring context, legitimacy and more importantly budget to the creative process but they also bring bias, historical baggage and their own perspective regarding what is possible.

So what happens when you remove the client - you remove the filter through which you see the market.

And when you remove the client filter all ideas can be viewed from one simple perspective - will it change how consumers behave.

And given the consumer empowered world we now live in what moves consumers to behave differently will be the defining factor governing success for businesses and brands in the future.

So can agencies develop a deep understanding of a vertical market - of course they can.
Can agencies instigate a consumer conversation - absolutely.
Can they produce a planning thought without a specific client in mind - easily.
Could agencies produce creative concepts for testing with consumers - no brainer.

So if an agency can identify a gap or opportunity in a market, develop an understanding of what drives consumer behaviour and produce a planning thought that would drive the creation of a conceptual idea, do we still need a client in the traditional sense?

But where is the commercial return for the agency?

The idea still has to be sold, no doubt about it. But consider this, the idea may be relevant to multiple clients rather than one, giving the agency more opportunities to generate a financial return. By selling an idea you don't have to wait for the pitch and can instigate an approach to a prospect at any time. And finally would clients be more open to seeing another set of credentials or looking at a road tested idea from an agency who understands their market and their customers, I'll let you decide.














Wednesday 3 April 2013

Do we really care about brands?

I noticed last week, after the man from Tesco dropped off the weekly shop, that we had 112 items with three substitutions on our receipt. Surprisingly I did not care about the replacement products and it was only as we were packing away the groceries that I realised I didn't really care about the over whelming majority of the branded products that we buy on a weekly basis.

After all my life was not going to change because I was drinking Nescafe instead of Kenco instant and the fact that Tesco had decided to bring me McVities chocolate digestives instead of my usual Fox's Classic was hardly cause for alarm.

In fact after reviewing all the products we purchased last week there was only one that I would have gone out of my way to ensure we had in the house. (Sanex Zero Shower Gel - sensitive skin!!)

So after all those expensive TV, Press, Outdoor, P.O.S. Online, Social and Viral Video campaigns only one brand from 112 products created any form of loyalty.

Why?

Well its not because I am an advocate for Sanex,  I don't visit their website or love their commercials and I have no idea if they have a Facebook page or a Twitter feed. Its because sore itchy skin really bothers me and their product does not irritate an existing eczema condition.

Whilst this example is anecdotal I think it demonstrates that what we really care about is what branded products actually deliver versus the brand itself. And if you want a personnel demonstration of this then the next time you are unpacking your groceries ask yourself if you had forgotten one of your weekly purchases would you leave the house to go and get it?