Brand Sense by Martin Lindstrom 5 of 5

61. B to B is the same as B to C. We are all human beings and therefore the principles which apply to B to C need to be applied to B to B.

62. The world’s most boring product ‘Roller Bearings’ produced by SKF whose vision statement is “Reduce friction to move the world forward.”

63. If you want to get ahead you don’t have to follow the leader’s tracks in the snow. One needs to benchmark against companies who are the best in the world and not necessarily in your industry. Optimize every touchpoint and compare with other companies in the world.

64. We need today more and more to look at brand alliances and partnerships. For instance Time-Warner creates content for GM cars. United Airlines serves only Starbucks coffee. DoCoMo the telecom service provider in Japan identifies for instance people and their friends if they happen to be in the same vicinity and invites them to have a tete-a-tete at the nearest Starbucks outlet. This is contextual branding.

65. It has been found that no matter which brands team up viz. whether one brand is strong while the other is weak or both brands are strong and so on, both will win. We need to think complementarity.

66. When products are more generic in nature it becomes essential that they team up with other brands viz. Nutrasweet with Coca Cola. Intel with the PC.

67. Create your own story and make your own presentation.

68. We need to look at the evolution of branding through the following phases viz. USP (Unique Selling Proposition) in the 60s to ESP (Emotional Selling Proposition) in the 70s, to OSP (Organisation Selling Propostiion) in the 80s, to BSP (Brand Selling Proposition) in the 90s, to MSP (Me Selling Proposition) in 2000, to HSP (Holistic Brand Proposition) which is happening now with trying to sensorialize the brand.

69. Brands are being used by parents to name their kids. Today there are 121 kids with the name ‘Nike’, 92 kids with the name ‘Canon’, 12 kids with the name ‘Starbucks’ and 19173 kids with the name ‘Harry’ as a result of the Harry Potter phenomenon. People are getting obsessed with brands. In a research it was found that 18.9% would like to have a tatoo of Harley Davidson, 14.8% Disney, 7.7% Coca-Cola and 6.6% Google.

70. The 10 major elements of ‘religion marketing’ are the following : Sense of belonging, Clear Vision, Power from Enemies, Authenticity, Consistency, Perfection, Symbols, Mystery, Rituals, and Sensory appeal.

71. Let’s see how brands have applied/not applied these elements. Vision creates community. Every brand needs a public enemy no. 1. Coke and Pepsi. When one makes a choice of a brand one is automatically making a clear statement of what one is not. Coca-Cola has not been consistent and has therefore lost the ownership of its red colour. Harley-Davidson stresses perfection to the extent of creating a detailed manual showing how a Harley Davidson is to be cleaned. The Coca Cola formula or 7X has a mystery created around it. Opening the Champagne bottle with a pop is a ritual. It is very easy to replace the cork with an aluminium cap but the whole ritual with the traditional popping sound will be missed. The James Bond ritual of wanting his Vodka Martini ‘Shaken not stirred’. The Olympics are full of rituals which have become more important than the Olympic rings. How to pour beer into a glass is a ritual. Corona beer which has to be drunk with a slice of lemon is a ritual which was created by a bartender in Los Angeles to see how fast a ritual spreads. One can invent one’s own rituals and own them.

72. Today’s kids (Tweens) through research, are seen to be more religious than ever. More than 50% state that having religion is more important to them They are also an Interactive generation. And control $ 1.88 trillion through their influence in the purchase of brands.

73. Today the kids don’t experience ‘information overload’. In multi-tasking kids outscore adults. While kids can handle on an average 5.4 channels at a time, adults can on an average handle just 1.7 channels. They are the instant generation.

74. Kids grow old young (KGOY). 44% prefer Internet. Next is Gaming and then TV. 20% have purchased products online. 20% find new friends online. The computer game titled ‘Everquest’ has 1.1mn. members who spend 28 hours a week playing the game. It needs to be played continuously. So that ‘Avatars’ are created. It takes 6-8 weeks to build an avatar. One can’t take a break for too long. The players earn an adult virtual salary. They then take their avatar and sell it on Ebay. There is an ‘EverQuest’ widows club. Wives divorced because the game engrossed their husbands. Entropia is a game where one purchases real estate with virtual cash. In certain games one finds that one can become a franchisee of McDonald’s and run it earning virtual cash which one can exchange for real cash on Ebay. So a kid of average age 9 years learns how to run an outlet profitably. Contextual branding is becoming more and more important. By 2010 it will be worth $ 1 bn. Hollywood is sourcing its ideas for films from Gaming.

75. The kids today are driven by fear because everything in their world is uncertain. More than half of today’s tweens feel stressed and can’t comprehend their daily life. More than half of the world’s tween population is concerned about terrorism. They find the past secure. They want stability, humour, mastery, fantasy, and love. And that is why sometimes one finds the old fashioned brands becoming popular. The retro effect. They are also continuously into ‘upgrading’.

76. The kids today deliberately distort language. 70% of all tweens change their language on purpose when chatting or texting. 30% of all tweens text several times a day. 15% prefer to text even if they are sitting next to one another.

77. Kids are becoming primary decision makers and therefore Toyota is targeting kids. They have become the primary decision makers in upto 80% of all cases. 60% decide the car brand. 58% decide the clothing brands. 57% decide the mobile phone brand. Kids are likely to become just as influential decision makers in the households as their parents within 5 years because half of the world’s married population are divorced and therefore kids will take on responsibilities earlier. They are substantially more exposed to advertising and the media.

78. Kids are now broadcasters. They have their own website. They have become brands.