A statistic I read this week said that discounts and vouchers would make 49% of people more interested in a brand. I really can’t believe this is true and other studies have revealed that discounting actually destroys brand value.
Discounts and vouchers may be the thing that finally tips some people into buying that brand, but the hard work of creating affinity must have been established long before that point. Interest, engagement and loyalty come from long-term relationships, not incentives.
What is becoming increasingly evident is that consumers’ views are being shaped over that longer term by an ever-wider set of interactions and communications with a brand. Whether it’s reading an article in the Guardian, following the brand on Instagram, seeing a TV ad or talking to customer service, it’s the sum total of the experience over time that will form the final impression.
This is why I think marketing now has to be based on defining a strong personality for a brand that sets a tone for all activity and acts as a rudder for communication and interaction. The work on brand archetypes set out by Margaret Mark and Carol Pearson in The Hero and The Outlaw is really persuasive, and we can see many examples day-to-day of brands we admire thriving through their distinct personalities. I would encourage every brand – from startup to market leader - to put most effort on defining their personality as the key prerequisite to great marketing and communication. From this, everything else will flow.
I also don’t believe in the tyranny of consistency: like our friends, we don’t want brands to be too predictable. We like spontaneity and want something that surprises us (in a good way). This of course plays well into always-on communication, shaped by personality rather than fixed content plans. Advance planning is crucial, but with campaigns today we have to bake in the chance for spontaneity.
So from a practical perspective as an agency working with clients, I would love to see us spending even more time examining these brand personality questions and how they should shape campaigns. Whether the execution is then through PR, social media, live experiences or any other channel, the combined team has a far greater sense of collective ownership that can shape consumer relationships over the long-term. Let’s make this the priority, rather than being diverted into thinking that money-off promotions creates lasting value.
Dominic Shales is managing director of Lexis
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