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New media and its impact on branding

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Jacqueline Burns is a freelance writer who specialises in marketing, media, advertising, technology and management. She is also marketing director for commercial law firm, Hunt and Hunt.

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The 10 New Rules of Branding

  1. Brands that influence culture sell more; culture is the new catalyst for growth.
  2. A brand with no point of view has no point; full-flavour branding is in, vanilla is out.
  3. Today's consumer is leading from the front; this is the smartest generation to have ever walked the planet.
  4. Customise wherever and whenever you can; customisation is tomorrow's killer whale.
  5. Forget the transaction, just give me an experience; the mandate is simple: Wow them every day, every way.
  6. Deliver clarity at point of purchase; be obsessive about presentation.
  7. You are only as good as your weakest link; do you know where you're vulnerable?
  8. Social responsibility is no longer an option; what's your cause, what's your contribution?
  9. Pulse, pace, and passion really make a difference; has your heartbeat checked recently?
  10. Innovation is the new boardroom favourite.
    Republished with permission from BrandingStrategyInsider.com

New media is increasingly putting branding in the hands of consumers, says Jacqueline Burns.

The year is 2007. The era is the Age of Conversation. Having survived several decades of mass media-channelled monologues, brands are at last engaging in two-way dialogue with consumers.

Whether brands like it or not, new media has empowered consumers to share their opinions and influence behaviour unlike ever before.

In this country, freedom of information refers to an individual’s right to access information about their personal affairs, and to request that incorrect or misleading information be amended or removed. Contrast this with the concept of freedom to share information. This is the right that the modern age has bestowed upon consumers the world over. Word of mouth has been amplified to a deafening degree, such that it can be broadcast in real time to everyone who is listening. It is estimated that more than 24 million blogs were launched in 2004.

“Companies used to be able to control the messages fairly easily,” says Chris Perks of AnthemPerks. “Unless the press decided to write an article, the majority of information was controlled by the corporates. That’s not the case any more – it’s much harder to control your image.”

The worst case scenario, but not altogether unrealistic fear, is that consumers may be poised to seize control of brand messages. This anxiety has prompted brands to fight back by themselves, exploiting new communication techniques, and to work much harder to control how they are perceived.

Brands that relinquish control to consumers, or that are overly concerned with what people (think they) want, risk losing their identity and purpose and quickly becoming bland. “People don’t necessarily know what they might want if it doesn’t exist already. You have to be cautious about responding to what people want because if you try to please everyone you could become a brand that stands for nothing. It's better to have a strong proposition that doesn’t appeal to everyone than be an everyday brand that no-one holds in high esteem,” cautions Perks.

Bottoms up

The Open Source Movement is the tag that has been given to communities of like-minded and collaborative consumers – individuals who share a passion for a certain element of modern culture, such as a particular brand.

The web browser Firefox, created by a community called Mozilla, and the renegade music file-sharing site Napster, are two well-known examples of the Open Source Movement. Wikipedia is another. Its 1.3 million articles are written and maintained in eight languages by individuals who are dispersed around the world.

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