Das Vertrauen in Marken nimmt kontinuierlich ab. Sinnstiftende Marken hingegen, die das Verbrauchervertrauen genießen, sind im Ergebnis überdurchschnittlich wirtschaftlich erfolgreicher. Nur 28 % der Marken verbessern in der Wahrnehmung der Verbraucher spürbar Lebensqualität und Wohlbefinden. In Europa ist der Bedeutungsverlust von Marken noch deutlicher zu sehen. Hier könnten knapp 93 % der Marken von heute auf morgen verschwinden und der Mehrheit der Menschen wäre es egal. 70 % der Deutschen erwarten, dass sich Marken aktiv an der Lösung sozialer und ökologischer Probleme beteiligen. Diese Ergebnisse sollten die CEOs und Marketing Direktoren deutscher Markenhersteller wachrütteln.
Marken müssen über das rein funktionale Produktversprechen auch das persönliche Erlebnis des Konsumenten und den gesellschaftlichen Nutzen ihrer Produkte den Kunden vermitteln. In einer stetig dynamischeren Kommunikationslandschaft, wo Konsumenten ihre Beziehung zu Marken radikal überdenken, wird es immer schwieriger, Marken wirksam und nachhaltig zu gestalten. Um den Erwartungen der neuen Konsumentengeneration gerecht zu werden, ist ein Umdenken in vielen Bereichen unverzichtbar. Der direkte Dialog zwischen Marke und Konsument erlangt eine immer größere Relevanz. Marken, die unspezifisch kommunizieren, sind passé. Es geht um Inhalte, die wirklich sinnstiftend sind und den Konsumenten einen echten Mehrwert bieten.
Meaningful Brands
Dafür arbeiten Strategen aus Kreation, Content, digitale Media und Social Engagement als agile Teams zusammen und definieren Wirkung neu: Im Fokus steht die echte Beziehung zur Marke und nicht nur in der Messung von Werbekontakten.
Weltweit sagen Menschen, dass ihnen 73% aller Marken nicht wirklich fehlen würden. Wenn man sich einmal die gesamten globalen Ausgaben für Marketing, Kommunikation und PR ansieht, und sich dann vergegenwärtigt, dass mehr als 73% der Unternehmen, die an diesen Ausgaben beteiligt sind, nicht vermisst werden würden, sehen Marken sich einem großen Problem gegenüber: Sie leiden unter dramatischem Bedeutungsverlust. Gemäß der Studie haben lediglich 20% der Marken in der Wahrnehmung der Verbraucher einen positiven Einfluss auf das Wohlbefinden.
Wichtig sind starke Partnerschaften die Shared Projekte entwickeln, in denen Marken sich gegenseitig befruchten können.
Verschiedene Industrien zeigen hier natürlich verschiedene Muster – zum Beispiel im Telekommunikationssektor sind das Zuhören und eine schnelle Bearbeitung der Anfragen sehr wichtig, während in der Lebensmittelindustrie eher die kollektiven Vorteile wie nachhaltiger Anbau und Beschäftigungsraten einen Beitrag zur empfundenen Sinnstiftung leisten.
„Marken, die das Wohlbefinden des einzelnen Menschen und der Gesellschaften erhöhen, sind sinnstiftender. Indem wir verstehen, welche Aktivitäten in globalen und lokalen Kreisen Resonanzen erzeugen, werden wir in der Lage sein, bedeutungsvollere Kampagnen zu entwickeln, und können zudem Implikationen über die wichtige und starke Erfolgskomponente Sinnstiftung ableiten.“
People buy stories not just products
In a frenzied world of information overload, finding and telling your story can be the quickest and smartest way to get investors, employees and customer to understand your role in the world.
Story 1: Origin
Every company has a launch. Few have an origin. In a largely adolescent technology sector renowned for its commercial bubbles, ephemeral start-ups and…
Story 2: Purpose
In a sector defined by the ‘what’, we can help you find your ‘why’ The sole purpose of your brand is to send an emotional message that goes beyond…
Story 3: Contrast
From reading the spec, to feeling the difference In a crowded market, creating contrast between you and your competition is a pre-requisite for growth….
Story 4: Product
Emotional engagement must be balanced with rational appeal. As we move through the decision-making process, the buyer mindset becomes increasingly detail-oriented,…
Story 5: Empathy
From technology-led to human-centred stories With an unwavering focus on technological innovation, too many brands overlook their biggest asset: customer…
Story 6: Innovation
Standing still is the new going backwards In a sector defined by rapid iteration and perpetual beta, your customers need confidence that your brand has…
Story 7: Focus
Focus, but with a wide lens While many technology brands thrive within niche markets, significant growth may depend on relevance across multiple verticals….
Story 8: Culture
Good stories aren’t told, they’re lived Organisational culture is a brand’s single most valuable intangible asset. Culture consists of the…
Story 9: Compassion
The new capitalism – now with added conscience The relationship between business and society is changing rapidly and radically. As demand grows for more…
Story 10: Planet
Economic sustainability requires environmental sustainability The future of your sector is inextricably linked with the future of the planet, not as a…
Story 11: Impact
From case studies to immersive narratives Customer confidence is the single most important factor in the purchase decision-making process. However, in…
Story 12: Reach
Transparency plus communication equals clarity and trust Complex or confusing routes to market can result in information overload and compromised confidence…
Story 13: Authority
Get to the future first Intelligent thought leadership marketing creates a backdrop against which differentiation builds and sales increase. Done well,…
Meaningful archetypes
We’ve developed four main brand archetypes for those companies on a journey to be more meaningful and ultimately more successful. See if you can recognise your company in these archetypes.
1: Believers
Believers have a clear vision and belief in a better product or better service to change a market or category they think needs a shake up. Their biggest challenge is often communicating this vision in a way that rallies their customers and investors.
They are most likely under 10 years old, not necessarily a startup, but most likely born from the recession of 2008. They are bold and often heroic, but their product focus means they often lack an organising (emotional) story at the heart of their business, which causes them to constantly pivot and change direction.
They often lack a true social and environmental purpose but are heavily engaged around hiring the best talent and building something amazing.
Examples include: Metro Bank, Ovo energy, 4th Office, Volo Commerce, Go Henry, Elevate Direct, Recruitment Revolution, King of Shaves.
Biggest challenges: The drive for growth. Market positioning. Daring to be different. Social purpose.
2: Transformers
Transformers represent a growing segment of companies that need to rethink (or have already done so) where they stand in their core sector or category. These types of companies are ambitious and motivated to bring something new and different to the world but often get caught up in their history, legacy and internal politics which stifles true transformation. They are inspired by their desire to create a better product or service. To make a difference beyond just their CSR efforts. And have an unwavering commercial passion to accelerate their growth and profitability.
Examples include: NatWest (Helpful Banking), Vocalink, Innocent drinks, Costa Coffee, RSA.
Biggest challenges: Internal transformation. Leadership belief and buy-in. Employee activation.
3: Visionaries
Visionaries are already ahead of the game in their chosen sector or category. They represent a new breed of company that has true meaning and purpose embedded into their business from the get go. They fundamentally believe in the notion of business as a force for good and want to bring about positive change. They are commercially driven and what they choose to do with their profit represents a fundamental belief in who they are and the active role they want to play in society.
Examples include: Whole Foods, People Tree, The People’s Operator, Toms Shoes, Animal Friends, Triodos bank, People Tree.
Biggest challenges: Getting people to care. Living their story.
4: Healers
Healers are the organisations and brands that want to heal people, the planet and business. They stand on the side of what’s right, taking on the tough and thorny issues that blight society. From government organisations and charities to not-for-profits, social enterprise and cause related businesses. Everything from tackling the issue of conflict minerals that go into mobile phones to pushing for a fairer, more equitable financial system to tackling poverty.
Examples include: Fairphone, Positive Money, The Salvation Army, Mellon Educate, Unicef, Age Concern, Macmillan Cancer Trust.
Biggest challenges: Getting people to care. Donations and funding. Daring to be different. Content creation. Demand generation.
The Importance of Company Values
When discussing culture, Hsieh frequently brings up the book Good to Great. One of the points in the book is that strong company culture is one of the factors that separates great companies from good, bad, or mediocre ones. On this point, Hsieh says:
We formalize the definition of our culture into…10 core values at Zappos. And one of the really interesting things I found from the research is that it actually doesn’t matter what your values are, what matters is that you have them and that you align the organization around them. And the power actually comes from the alignment not from the actual values….
“We’re not out there telling people [that they should adopt the Zappos values] and culture because that would actually probably not work in most cases. Our message is more ‘you should figure out what your values are and then align the entire organization around them.
It’s important to get everyone on the same page. As the old management adage goes: you can’t have deeply engaged customers without deeply engaged employees.
LINKS
Verbrauchern fehlt Vertrauen in den Markt
Relationship Economy – Vertrauen Währung der Zukunft
Zukunft des Marketing
