Do Your Brands Really Speak to You?

Brand loyalty is an illusion

Little would the rancher who first burnt his symbol, or mark, as it was called, on to his cattle as a declaration of his claim over them, have realized that he is creating an idea that would evolve over time to be a multi-headed monster.

The ‘brand’ evolved from a mere claim of ownership to what is now defined as a set of perceptions that defines an entity. Over time, those who were entrusted with managing brands began to create personas for them, and stories to match these personas. When the personas needed to be bolstered, they even brought in celebrity ambassadors whose job it was to help consumers identify with the brand by humanizing it.

As the emphasis on building brand personas – branding as it is called – increased, so did the need to separate the product’s persona from that of the seller or the manufacturer. Thus, evolved corporate brands and product brands. The reasons for this were two-fold, to help evolve a distinct personality for each product in a manner that would connect with its target consumers, and to insulate the parent or corporate brand from the downside of product failure in the market.

But the more brands they created and had to deal with, the more brand marketers began to force brand narratives of their choice down consumers’ throats. Rather than leaving the target consumers with subtle cues about their brands, they began to craft definitive brand stories which were inward looking rather than being based on the situational interactions of a potential consumer with the brand. Concepts like brand loyalty came into being based on the marketers’ belief that consumers of their brand had uni-dimensional personalities that wouldn’t change with situations. But what of the avowed Nike consumer who subscribes to the brand’s ‘Just Do It’ philosophy who happens to be a fan of the German football team and thus has to buy an Adidas-manufactured team jersey? Does his supposed brand loyalty stop him from following his passion and wearing the jersey of the team he supports? Definitely not!

Brands have evolved to be many things at the same time, and it is high time that brand managers stop trying to craft single, all-encompassing narratives for their brands. The focus should be on creating multiple brand stories that can resonate with consumers across a variety of situations. It should be their endeavor to make consumers value their brands by getting them to identify with some and over time all, of their brand’s narratives.