The
age of the brand is over if we're to believe
Kevin Roberts, CEO of ad giant Saatchi and
Saatchi. In Roberts' world, brands have been
reduced to table stakes, the victims of commodification,
ferocious competition and incremantalism,
"Brands
have run out of juice," proclaims Roberts. "More
and more people in the world have grown to
expect great performance from products, services
and experiences. And most often, we get it.
Cars start first time, the fries are always
crisp, dishes shine."
So
Roberts and Saatchi developed another way
of looking at product attributes and coined
a new phrase in the process: "Lovemarks."
According
to the CEO, Lovemarks transcend traditional
brand attributes. They not only deliver on
the product promises, they create an emotional
attachment to consumers as well. Starting
with "Respect," a Brand grows into a Lovemark
by layering on emotional attachment, mystery
(dreams, inspiration, myth/legend), sensuality
(using the senses as a fast-track to emotion),
intimacy (commitment, passion, empathy) and
more.
The
end result is "loyalty beyond reason."
"Take
a brand away and people will find a replacement.
Take a Lovemark away and people will protest
its absence," Roberts says. "Lovemarks are
a relationship, not a mere transaction. You
don't just buy Lovemarks, you embrace them
passionately."
Roberts
points to Harley-Davidson vs. Suzuki as an
example of a charismatic Lovemark vs. a Brand.
"The
real world of business is anchored by Respect
at one end and inspired by Love at the other.
Focus on respect and you get incremental
growth - you're running with the pack. Ignite
love and you go quantum. You go beyond being
irreplaceable. You become irresistible."
Roberts
uses a quadrant similar to illustrate his
point, that the most powerful brands are
owned by the consumers that love them rather
than by the companies that make them.
Here
are Roberts' five recommendations on how
to evolve a Brand into a Lovemark:
- Increase Emotion about the product
- Add Mystery, Sensuality and Intimacy
- Think in Paradoxes and exploit
them.
- Replace Command and Control with
Unleash and Inspire
- Make the World a Better Place
HOW
YOU CAN BUZZ IN
- Estimate your position in the
quadrant above to set a strategy. If you're
not in one of the two high Respect quadrants,
make that your first move.
In Roberts' world, no respect equates
to instability and relegates an entity
to the status of a product or a fad
