Sorry: People Don’t Care About Brands

If you’re a marketer, chances are you really care about brands.

And you assume other people (prospects) do, too.

Behavioral scientist Richard Shotton says that’s an example of the false consensus effect: we think our behaviors and views are more common than they really are.

Most people don’t care about brands.

Consider the Havas Group’s Meaningful Brands 2019 report based on 1,800 brands and 350,000 respondents in 31 countries.

Results: consumers said they wouldn’t care if 77% of everyday brands disappeared.

[FWIW: 58% of respondents thought brands were providing poor and irrelevant content.

[61% of British consumers said they want brands to provide content that is interesting, entertaining, or offers useful experiences or services that stand apart from the brand’s usual services.

[Which, to me anyway, implies that info-tainment is a much better content choice than just facts and figures.]

Joe Parrish, Chief Creative Officer at The Variable, an advertising agency, wrote a post called People Don’t Love Your Brand, They Don’t Even Like It.

Ouch.

He said we have too much going on in our lives to care about brands.

We are over-Instagrammed and Facebooked and student loaned and DVR’d and iPhoned and baby pictured. Mass media no longer affects us.

Then he mentioned brand purpose, and said it gives brands an edge.

That jibes with the Havas report which found that half of British consumers prefer to buy from companies with a reputation for being focused on purpose rather than just profits.

Full disclosure: I hate the term “brand purpose.” It irks me.
It sounds so pompous. And it smacks of bandwagons and political correctness.

Think of all the brands who say they’re in it to fight climate change, or now, suddenly, post-George Floyd, to end “systemic racism.”

But then Mr. Parrish (whose post was written in 2017) reeled me back in: he mentioned Bud Light and their Dilly, Dilly campaign:

(Bud Light) finally understands why they exist– to give friends something to drink while they’re having good times…

the goal of their advertising (is) to give friends something to talk about… to create pop culture that can be talked about
over the beer they make.

Don’t overthink it. It’s not about taste or ingredients or calories. It’s about enhancing friendship. And how have they done it? “Dilly, dilly…”

Enhancing friendship, bringing people together. Now there’s a purpose even smaller brands can aspire to (as opposed to solving global warming).

Jeff Slater makes a similar point about people and brands:

Brands are purely emblematic: vehicles or tools towards something bigger. Consumers love the experience they have through a brand, but it isn’t the brand itself that matters.

More often than not, it is about being part of a community.

So forget about people loving your brand– give them a reason to congregate.

Develop a unique brand voice. Remember the Havas report:
people like content that’s interesting and entertaining. Give them something to enjoy and talk about.

The last word goes to Mr. Shotton: Be different. Prioritize getting noticed. It’s all for naught if people just scroll past your content.

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About Mark: I’m an illustrator specializing in humor, editorial, branding, social media, and content marketing. My images are different, like your brand needs to be.

You can view my portfolio, and connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Questions? Send me an email.

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