Reading Time: 2 minutes We coined the term ‘cultrepreneur’ some years back to describe enterprising business people who consciously set about developing brands that are anti-scale, hard to find and fervently followed – cults. A number of people have asked how you go about building a cult brand. So here’s the first three secrets: Cult brands are evasive Make […]
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Perspectives
Different types of customer stickiness
Reading Time: 3 minutes Brand loyalty can look a lot like popularity. If people are buying what you offer, you must be doing something right, right? But people stay with brands for different reasons because there are different types of customer stickiness.
How your product brand can gain an emotional advantage
Reading Time: 3 minutes Just getting a presence for your product in most markets can be hard work. A longer runway than anyone expects. A lot more patience required as well. Long days having to justify every metre of shelf space you’re allocated. And to what end? It’s hard work taking your product from an option to a choice. […]
Tell a story customers are inclined to believe
Reading Time: 2 minutes When was the last time you actually changed your mind? The hardest thing a brand can do is convince. To go against what people already believe and to ask them to believe something different. That’s why it makes so much sense to tell a story customers are inclined to believe.
How to identify, build and deliver your brand moments
Reading Time: 5 minutes One of the great ironies, and frustrations, for many brands is that reputation must be built over years, but can be lost in a tiny fraction of that time – seconds. All because of an action or a word, a misunderstanding or an expectation that may or may not even have been reasonable in the […]
Renormalising
Reading Time: 3 minutes Brands are all about habits. But as this article in Time reminds us, sometimes the best thing a brand can look to do is to change a habit – even if they helped create the habit in the first place. Of course, brands tell themselves they do this all the time – but for many […]
Two ways to take a stand as a brand
Reading Time: 3 minutes What have you got to say for yourself? In these polarised times, is it still possible or prudent for a brand to take a stand? And if you do, how should you do so? Here are two ways to take a stand as a brand. Take a stand softly Taking a stand this way is […]
Positioning your brand through memories
Reading Time: 2 minutes I think it’s healthy for there to be a direct relationship between memory and frequency for a brand. The more often a customer comes into contact with your brand, the more consistent the memory needs to be. That’s because brands that frequently interact with their customers have the power of habit on their side. In […]
A brand that discounts or a discount brand?
Reading Time: 2 minutes This article in Time on how to get the most out of Apple is a reminder that there is a noticeable difference psychologically between a brand that discounts (even if it’s only occasionally) and a discount brand. Apple does discount – but for selected parts of its range or for specific reasons: change-over on a […]
Volume is nothing like intensity
Reading Time: 2 minutes Speculation in recent days about what a “fan” is worth to a business is a timely reminder to separate volume from intensity. Many commentators in the social universe it seems to me remain beguiled by quantity. The more liked you are, they seem to think, the more valuable you are potentially. Not so, of course. […]
The vital (and ironical) difference between brand and identity
Reading Time: 2 minutes Are there such things as brands in much of the Government sector? I don’t think there are. That’s a good thing. And here’s why. I believe brands fundamentally require a competitive environment in which to actually work. I’m sure there’s an economic model that explains why – I don’t know it. But the reason why […]
Intersections
Reading Time: 2 minutes At dinner the other night, the conversation turned to carpet ads. Why, someone asked, do retailers keep advertising carpet ads when most people only buy carpet once every 7 – 10 years? Because, they don’t all buy them at once, I reminded them. A brief explanation of interruption theory followed. Because so many retailers have […]