It’s more than just a crush – here’s why we fall truly, madly, deeply in love with brands.
Your heart beats faster, your palms start sweating and all of a sudden, you get a funny fluttery feeling in your belly (and it’s not that lunchtime burrito). There’s only one thing it can be – you, our friend, are in love; and it’s not just any old love, it’s brand love and you’ve fallen hard. It’s okay, we’ve all been there at different points in our lives – we had our summer flings (like the days we felt incomplete without a scoosh of Lynx Africa) and our Christmas romances (because nothing says happy holidays like a Baby G watch) but we’re talking the real McCoy – proper, happily-ever-after brand love with bows on (otherwise known as brand loyalty). Sure, this might sound pretty intense (just a teeny bit) but as the complex, mind-boggling and mysterious creatures called humans we are, we connect with loads of things on an emotional level, and one of those things just so happens to be brands.
Steady on – what is a brand exactly?
If we were to try and put it in a nutshell it kind of goes like this; branding is the thing that will humanise a business so that customers can connect with it on a more emotive level, meaning they’ll see beyond your products and services and align with your company. The word ‘brand’ means something different to everyone, but it’s more than just a logo. If you think about it, your brand is kind of like a person and as our Grannies used to say, there’s a lot more to life than a pretty face (but with brands, it always helps if they’re bonnie): You’ve also got a personality, a style, a tone of voice (and that’s just the beginning). If you fancy a nosey at some of the things that come together to build a brand, here’s something we prepared earlier.
What makes a great brand?
Great brands transcend anything they sell – they engage, involve and connect with people. Sounds cheesier than a bedtime toastie, but brands change our perceptions of the world and make a difference to it too. Think about it – how many people are able to work on the move, talk to their loved ones and get information at their fingertips thanks to Apple? How many ‘to do’ lists are turned into ‘done’ lists thanks to the aspirational messaging of Nike? The thing about these brands is that they focus on why they exist rather what they do (to quote Simon Sinek’s TED Talk, ‘How Great Leaders Inspire Action’) and always offer something of intangible value – that’s what makes them great.
So, what does this have to do with brand loyalty?
As brand humanises business, think about what it’s like when you meet someone for the first time – you tend to get on well if you have similar interests and beliefs, right? Well, when you start to interact with a brand rather than a business, it isn’t about buying and selling (well, at least it’s not all about that) it’s about being part of something that you believe in with other people who believe in it too. It’s at this point that you go to this brand when it comes to spending your pocket money; even if there’s a company who sells the same thing for cheaper (and in some cases, better) you always go back to your favourite brand.
Does anyone actually have brand loyalty?
Sure! A great example of a great brand (and all their great-greatness) is Red Bull who, as a business, sell energy drinks that keep you awake at night to meet deadlines (just us?) but as a brand, do loads of other magical things. Red Bull’s key to building their brand is aligning themselves with amazing people, teams and events and taking on the full shebang, rather than sitting with other brands in standard sponsorship packages. But these aren’t your typical events – take the Red Bull Flugtag, where creative maniacs build ‘flying machines’ to hurtle off a giant ledge over some water and compete to see which one can defy gravity the longest. Tying in with their brand message ‘Red Bull gives you wings’ and the fact that they’re known as the go-to brand for daredevils all over the world, they’ve been able to build a global community who buy into their way of thinking and live it with them every single day.
What do you lot think?
We hosted one of our #MadeBraveChats about why we fall in love with brands and here’s what you guys had to say.
@MadeBrave Don’t market to sell. Create good content and the attention will come naturally. Don’t force the product upon people
— Andrew Miller (@AndrewMillerx) June 16, 2016
@MadeBrave to me a brand is something that you can trust, that you know you’re getting what you pay for i guess. — -Fruit- (@RaspberryCreatv) June 16, 2016
@MadeBrave Brands are the connector between who we are, who we want to be and a means of showing part of our identity. #brands — Mhairi Clarke (@mhairiclarke) June 16, 2016
@MadeBrave more, i feel a brand should be a living thing. It should be a thing that anyone who is a fan can feel a part of it and help grow. — CASUALGUY (@CasualIain) June 16, 2016
@MadeBrave A brand is like a person, unique. A brain, heart, & fair or greedy. If it has a killer personality, it’ll have a lot of friends.
— Jack Proctor (@jack2thefuture3) June 16, 2016
