Comments on: Building Brands: The Mind or the Heart?

By: Dog Training

Dog Training — Mon, 07 May 2007 15:41:17 +0000

I found this page whilst researching food manufacturing companies, and their marketing approach. Excellent information indeed. In particular i was investigating the impact of packaging over content of packages. Corn flakes, i once heard, can often cost much less in content, than the box in which they are contained for sale on the supermarket shelf. I was curious to know the actual figure to be quoted on this, so if anyone knows, would be grateful for an email or you can drop it in the contact page at http://www.K9Obedience.co.uk
Marketing is so much more powerful than product. Within the dog food industry it is clear that, just as with human food marketing, the packaging and approach to selling is given a lot more consideration than the actual contents of dog food and pet food in general.
A bag of dog food can contain some quite horrific elements. Many people are becoming increasingly aware of the nasty chemicals used in manufacturing processes, but more alarming is the fact that euthanised dogs and other pets, as well as zoo animals all contribute to modern tinned pet foods, which are nicely labelled as “Wholesome” or “Natural”. Maybe a dead tiger is a natural ‘thing’ in its corpse form, but the process of feeding it to dogs is certainly not! But do most consumers look that deeply into the term ‘natural’ when they read it on their dog’s food? No, they simply use the term to satisfy any emotive concerns (conscience, self-satisfaction etcetera) in order to go ahead and make the purchase which their impulses have already instructed them to make, of course as a direct result of an advert or some clever branding they have already been exposed to.
Marketing is everything, but i for one would like to see the substance behind a label or statement become more important to a consumer than the statement itself, which is quite often inaccurate and sometimes pure dishonesty.
I don’t foresee this happening however, so all i am left to do is make a conscientious choice myself to try not to be mislead by marketing, but to use it to simply inform me of a company’s intentions towards me, or in this case, towards my dogs!
Martin

By: Dorez

Dorez — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 22:06:25 +0000

I sure am glad I came across this article!! My daughter and I have a fashion company (Jahqoi) and we sell online. I’m not sure if it’s possible to get customers to develop an emotional attachment to a product that’s on a website. Maybe you have some ideas/tips about how to do that. We do, however, make a top-notch product (plus-size clothing) and we’re constantly working on improving it. So, I guess we’re on the right track.
I’ll be coming back regularly to read more of your articles. This one was extremely helpful.
- Dorez
Los Angeles, CA (USA)

By: Ted Mininni

Ted Mininni — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 19:24:33 +0000

Hi Pedro,
Very eloquently put, and I thank you for weighing in on this issue. You are quite right. The brand should always be advanced first and be foremost in any CPG company’s collective mind. Delivering consistently on the brand promise and creating an emotional connection with the customer delivers great results for any company. The key here is not to ever rest on one’s laurels and take brand success for granted. This must be earned, and that means it has to be worked on every day.

By: Pedro Laboy

Pedro Laboy — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 02:53:31 +0000

Well put, Ted. The value and differentiation of a brand in a customer’s mind is stronger and more sutainable than that of a product. Strong differentiated brands will consistently generate, maximize and grow cash flows. They achieve this by commanding a price premium, allowing for brand extensions and licensing, creating barriers of entry, attracting and retaining more valuable customers, and reducing the costs of customer acquisition.

By: Ted Mininni

Ted Mininni — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 13:49:04 +0000

Thanks for your input, Jim. As I stated in my article, perceived value (read: quality) is of utmost importance to the consumer. But on this point we disagree: with so many “quality choices” for consumers on the retail cereal shelf, if there wasn’t a strong sense of heritage and emotional attachment, why buy specific products? There are hosts of cereals that meet nutritional and quality standards? Why Kellogg’s Corn Flakes (just one example)?It is my contention that once the basic criteria are met, marketing and branding initiatives should work to cement the customer relationship. People, being people, purchase for emotional reasons as much as they do for intellectual reasons. Perhaps even more so for emotional reasons. That is my point.

By: Jim Kukral

Jim Kukral — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 20:57:16 +0000

“Consumers who have grown up with Kellogg’s Corn Flakes continue to enjoy the product, and more importantly, continue to enjoy a deep relationship with the brand. Kellogg’s is a venerable and trusted brand.”
You’re missing the key element in what a brand actually is.
They keep buying cereal because it’s good, not because they are emotionally tied to the “brand”. The experience is the brand, the quality of the product.
If the product (cereal) was bad, the brand would have died years ago.
I think that everyone who is building a product/service needs to step back and first make their product/service as good as it can be. That’s your brand, everything else is marketing of your brand.

By: Ted Mininni

Ted Mininni — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 15:59:06 +0000

Thanks for the input, Lewis and Susan. I quite agree that we as marketers must focus on the human contact we make with the customer and our brands. We also, to cite Susan’s main point, can’t afford to become complacent with our successes and assume we have achieved brand loyalty. We have to be willing to work to earn the customer’s hard-earned dollars and their loyalty every day. And we have to understand the chief motivations behind their product purchases. At the end of the day, human to human contact, empathy and shared, basic values that ring true are the most important aspects of marketing. We’re all in the relationship building business.

By: Susan F. Heywood

Susan F. Heywood — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 14:21:09 +0000

As marketers, we often chase the “next big thing” and forget that there are customers who are delighted with our current products.
One thing that I hear from consumers is that they are frustrated when there are too many choices. When this happens, “analysis paralysis” can set in and delay or deter the purchase.
Understanding what unique benefits customers value in our products and services can help us understand when and how to introduce new versions.
If we don’t understand why our products and services inspire loyalty, we risk confusing habit with loyalty in evaluating customer behavior.

By: Lewis Green

Lewis Green — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 13:36:36 +0000

Good advice. I believe brands are built from the inside/out, beginning with hiring for the culture and then rewarding those most passionate about the brand. All touch points are important but not equal. Our engagement with the brand is most affected by the human relationship.