Emotional Branding: Feelings vs. Facts

March 8th, 2010

Your competitive advantage is based upon how you make people feel. In the realities of today’s economy, people are overloaded with options and conflicting information regarding just about everything.  Additionally, much of the information looks the same.  It’s difficult for people to identify the “best” choice.  This new marketplace has made people confused, frustrated and tired.

Did you know that people’s brains actually get tired?  All of our brains work the same way.  The brain takes in data, attempts to make a design of that data and ultimately attempts to understand the meaning.  This goes on all day long . . . and eventually the brain gets tired.

Brands that only communicate the data – the brand facts – will not be as successful as brands that create a dialogue around the meaning – people’s personal truths.

Since people know that they can’t rationally cope with all of this choice in their lives, they’re making purchase decisions based upon how they feel.  People typically make a mental short list based on what they’ve read or heard.  Then, they’re motivated by how brands make them feel.  If they don’t feel anything, they’ll just move on.

Today, people make choices based upon what makes them feel good.  They want to feel the importance of what your brand offers them.  They’re not obsessing over your brand facts.  They’re obsessing over their personal truths – how they feel now and how they want to feel in the future.

The key to success in branding today is to become proficient at the language of feelings and beliefs.  Discover and appeal to your audience’s whys – their truths – their feelings.

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How to Use Social Media for New Product Development

February 16th, 2010

It’s one of my favorite times of the year . . . time for the American International Toy Fair!  Even if you’re not attending this great event at the Javits Center in NYC, you’ll still get glimpses of the new toy introductions via massive media coverage.

This year, “Toy Fair ‘10” boasts 100,000 products from over 1,200+ exhibitors . . . delivering “the world’s freshest ideas and hottest trends.”

The Fair’s website claims, “There’s something for everyone at Toy Fair!”  Being a kid at heart, I was anxious to see some of the “world’s freshest ideas and hottest trends.”  So, I watched a Good Morning America segment that showed kids playing with some of the new toys.  It was a good segment, but would’ve been better if the kids, instead of the adults, talked about the toys.  And then I read about, and saw a photo of, Computer Engineer Barbie.

Hmmm . . . where do I start?  OK, did you know that Barbie has had 124 careers since 1959?  Computer Engineer is the 125th career for this beloved doll.  Know how Mattel selected this career?  It was decided entirely by online votes.

Barbie asked her Twitter followers and fans on Facebook to help her make this important career decision.  More than 1/2 million people cast their vote.

According to a press release, Barbie designers worked closely with the Society of Women Engineers and the National Academy of Engineering to develop the wardrobe and accessories for Computer Engineer Barbie.  She wears a binary code patterned t-shirt and comes with a smart phone, Bluetooth headset, laptop and travel bag.

Mattel should be applauded for reaching out and listening to Barbie brand fans via social media.  That’s how brands should be using social media.

But, does Computer Engineer Barbie have to wear pink glasses, a pink hair band, a pink watch and carry a pink laptop?

Fran Lytle . . . by the way, my favorite color is pink.

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4 Tips to Create Emotional Connections with Customers

February 8th, 2010

Brands that win in today’s marketplace are those that emotionally bond with people – current and potential customers. As brands continue to fight for the same dollars, an  emotional connection is what makes the essential difference.  The emotional element is what gives a brand both the foundation and fuel for future business strategies – people driven strategies.

1)  Develop a partnership: Powerful emotional branding comes from partnership and dialogue with people.  It’s important to change internal brand dialogue – talk about “people,” instead of “consumers.”  Consumers buy, people live.  Develop a partnership approach based on a relationship of mutual respect.  After all, people are your best source of information.

2)  Get, and stay, interested: To emotionally bond with people, it matters how you make people feel about themselves and their decisions in your brand presence.  When a brand shouts about itself, people tune out the frequency.  Why?  Because people aren’t interested in the brand.  They want the brand to be interested in them and to show them how their relationship with you will make them feel better about themselves.  Being truly interested in your audience will make your brand stand out.

3)  Your brand’s real competitive advantage: Your competitive advantage is based upon how you make people feel.  In the realities of today’s economy, people are overloaded with options and conflicting information regarding just about everything.  Additionally, much of the information looks the same.  It’s difficult for people to identify the “best” choice.

4)  Feelings rule: Since people know that they can’t rationally cope with all of this choice in their lives, they’re making purchase decisions based upon how they feel.  People typically make a mental short list based on what they’ve read or heard.  Then, they’re motivated by how brands make them feel.

This month’s teleseminars

This month’s issue of BrandNotes.

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4 Behavioral Insights — How Men & Women Use Social Networks

February 2nd, 2010

1) Men are more outwardly competitive than women . . . it has to do with genetic memory. His ancient ancestors were hunters. They had to leave the tribe, hunt and bring the prey back to the tribe. So, he had to be competitive . . . faster, smarter, larger, more nimble than other male tribe members.

2) A man also has less verbal outposts in his brain than a woman. That’s why he speaks in short sentences and likes to “hear the bottom line.” Women, on the other hand, like to hear and tell stories.

3) Women are more inwardly competitive than men . . . this also has to do with genetic memory. Her ancient ancestors were left back at the tribe to raise children until they could have children. Each day, she attempted to do a better job of nurturing and protecting all of the children.

4) Since she had to work with other women in the tribe to raise the children, she had to collaborate. That’s why women enjoy mentoring, teamwork and sharing stories. Did you know that a women’s Highest Personal Value is establishing and nurturing relationships?

These gender-specific insights help to explain how men and women use social media differently.

On Twitter, men have 15% more followers than women. That’s because they’re competitive and want to have more followers than other men. Remember last April when celebrity Ashton Kutcher challenged CNN to a Twitter popularity contest? The network and Kutcher raced to be the first to get1 million followers on Twitter. Typical competitive male behavior.

She’s not trying to get the most followers on Twitter or have the most friends on Facebook. She’s looking to make connections with people . . . to establish and nurture relationships.

She’s on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and Classmates.com. Women also author and comment on blogs. Your brand can establish and nurture a relationship with her by understanding what’s important to her life . . . love, family, relationships and community. Listen to the conversations she’s having on social networks. Understanding her will help your brand to engage in conversations that are relevant to her and influence dialogue that connects with her.

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3 Reasons to Promote your Brand’s Emotional Experience

January 25th, 2010

If you wanted to increase your happiness, would you spend money on something experimental, like a mini-vacation, or something material, like a new pair of shoes?  Recent research suggests that for long-term happiness, experiences beat material possessions.

Experiences beat possessions because they…

1. Improve with time…as we forget about all the boring moments and just recall the highlights

2. Take on symbolic meanings…those shoes you bought are still just shoes.

3. Are resistant to unfavorable comparisons…a vacation is personally yours and difficult to compare with anything else — but soon your new shoes are likely to look dated in comparison with new fashions, and also eventually look worn-out.

Here’s an idea:  use these insights when developing your marketing communications.  Whether your brand is a product, service, destination or organization, promote the emotional experience of someone engaging your brand, instead of the functional, or material, attributes.

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5 Emotional Branding Insights — Women Customers

January 18th, 2010

A woman’s Highest Personal Value is establishing and nurturing relationships. And, women are holistic in their approach to relationships. They’re less likely than men to compartmentalize a brand solely based upon what it has to offer them in a specific situation.

Women want to understand the big picture; what the brand stands for . . . if the brand’s image, philosophy and/or ethics are in sync with their own. Women want to feel a deeper, more layered connection. It’s called Emotional Branding.

What do women really want? The five most important elements of an Emotional Branding program for women are:

1.  Respect – Women are well informed. They’re careful about how they make decisions and look for input from other women. Acknowledge that she’s intelligent and informed.

2.  Individuality – Women have multiple life roles and don’t want to be approached from one narrow perspective. Recognize and celebrate her life diversity.

3.  Stress Relief – Women feel frustrated when attempting to balance their work and family life. Offer solutions, or at least acknowledge and make attempts to understand her daily stress.

4.  Connection — Emotions play a large part in her decision-making process. She doesn’t want to hear functional statistics or brand slogans. She wants to know what your brand means to her life. “Connect with her,” don’t “sell to her!”

5.  Trust – Women want to engage in a dialogue. She’s not interested in someone speaking “at” her. She’s looking for a relationship she can trust. She’ll stay loyal to brands she trusts, just as she stays loyal to people she trusts.

fran@brandchamps.com

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7 Tips to Get More Women Customers

January 11th, 2010

Want more women customers? In this new media age, your brand has to socialize with women. You need to participate directly in conversations with her and provide meaningful dialogue. And, you need to do it in ways that increase your relevance and value in her eyes . . . or, she’ll ignore you.

To connect with women, your brand must develop a credible voice. This voice must be engaging, personal, humble, authentic and participatory.

So, how can your brand motivate women to have long-lasting relationships with it? Here are 7 tips that everyone on your marketing team should use as a blueprint for brand communications.

1. People First
Tap into women’s orientation toward people as the most important and interesting element in her life. Let her hear and read stories about people and situations from people who’d she probably socialize with in-person.

2. Help Her Connect
Women naturally gravitate towards brands that help them converse and connect with other women. You can accomplish this through your website, blogs and social media.

3. Develop and Link Online & Offline Events
Unlike men, women don’t desire autonomy. She likes the warmth and interaction of belonging. Think about creating fan groups via your web and social media. Then, develop events whre the groups can get together in-person and intensify that feeling of belonging.

4. Help Others
Women are nurturers . . . they want to help people. If your brand shows her you help others, she’ll bond with you and tell her friends. Make it real. Make it honest. Don’t do it just for publicity . . . she’ll sense this insincerity and walk away from your brand.

5. Understand Her
You’ve probably read articles and research studies that indicate women think brands don’t “respect” them. Unfortunately, these same articles and studies don’t go on to explain what she means by “respect.” What she’s really seeking is “understanding!” She wants you to listen to her and respond to what she’s saying. Are you providing her with this opportunity?

6. The “Girlfriend Factor”
Women enjoy being with their girlfriends. It keeps her healthy, happy and sane. Did you know that when women are faced with a stressful situation, they don’t experience the “fright or flight” behavior of men? She’ll huddle with her girlfriends, which decreases her stress levels. In this current economic environment, women are feeling a lot of pressure and stress. Is your brand providing her with an opportunity to huddle with girlfriends?

7. Make Her Laugh
Women have a different sense of humor than men. Men’s humor grows out of men’s culture . . . humor is another way to connect through put-downs and one-upmanship. For men, a punch line to a joke usually plays on how some poor guy gets his come-uppance.

Women’s humor grows out of female gender culture. It operates on the dynamic of identifying with the person in the funny situation. She delights in recognizing the similarity she didn’t realize before. “Yikes!” she’ll exclaim, “That’s happened to me!”

There’s a reason that Ellen DeGeneres received the People’s Choice Award for Favorite TV Talk Show. Ellen’s humor connects with women.

Want to talk about how to use these 7 tips to get more women customers? Just email me . . . fran@brandchamps.com.

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Change your Marketing Mindset for Social Media

January 4th, 2010

Social media isn’t a fad. It’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate. Your brand needs a social media presence because in the near future people won’t search for products and services, they’ll engage in relationships with brands that participate in dialogues on their social networks.

Social media is a platform for engagement and building relationships. It’s evolved to be part of a marketer’s tactical toolbox. But, if you’re not careful, your social media presence can be perceived as spam. To avoid this, you must change your marketing mindset . . .

• Don’t use the word “consumers” — consumers buy. Use the word “people” — people live.

• People expect honesty from other people and brands on social networks. Your goal should be to earn their trust. Trust is engaging and intimate.

• It’s not about communication — communication is telling. Social media is all about the conversation — conversation is sharing.

• Think about how to develop relationships.

• Social media is not a platform for you to sell products — products fulfill needs. Your social media presence should be about experiences — experiences fulfill desires.

Need help developing your Social Media Plan for 2010? Send me an email fran@brandchamps.com to discuss our teleseminars, hourly coaching and planning.

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The “3 R’s” to Motivate Women Customers

December 21st, 2009

Recently, we undertook a quantitative research study with women.  The objective was to gain insights into what types of experiences women are seeking.

Overwhelmingly, we heard that women want, and need, three experiences in their lives.  Here they are . . . the “3 Rs”:

Reconnection – She wants to reconnect with herself, friends, significant other and family.

Reinvention – She’s seeking experiences that allow her to expand her life, enhance her relationships and explore new opportunities.

Rejuvenation – She needs some down time to recharge her life batteries.

If your best customer is a woman, here’s an exercise for your brand marketing team…

Get together in a conference room and put up some Post-it Wall Paper on the walls.  Write down how your brand can make her feel a sense of reconnection, reinvention and rejuvenation.  Can you promise her all three, or two?  If so, identify the one brand promise that’s stronger, or more credible than the others.

Then gather your advertising, collateral and promotions from 2009.   Look at all of these communications, your website and your social media presence.  Have you attempted to communicate how your brand can provide her with experiences of reconnection, reinvention and rejuvenation? If not, think about how you can tweak your communications to motivate her consideration in 2010 and develop a long-lasting relationship with her in years to come.

Need help with this exercise?  Just email fran@brandchamps.com

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How to Connect Your Brand with Moms Using Social Media

December 14th, 2009

I was recently interviewed for a white paper being published by Greater Media, Inc. The topic was “Millennial Moms.” They quoted me extensively throughout the paper because of my expertise in connecting brands, radio stations and destinations with women.  When I received the final version, I had to laugh when I read the Gloria Steinem quote used to introduce the paper . . .

“The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn.”

Amusing, yes, but it’s the truth.  We must unlearn what we think we know about how to engage women, particularly moms.  Greater Media points out that today’s mom is a Marathon Mom.  She continually seeks a work/life balance and in most instances is an early adapter of technology.

Then, a few weeks ago, Advertising Age published a white paper, “The New Female Consumer:  The Rise of the Real Mom.” This paper points out that to reach this demographic, marketers need to make real moms feel confident and in charge.

How can you make her feel confident and in charge, knowing that she’s probably an early adapter of technology?  Connect with her through social media.

If you want to grow your business with moms, you must have a social medial presence.  eMarketer estimates that there will be 39.6 million moms online by 2012 and she currently makes 83% of the buying decisions for her family.

New communities and content sites for moms appear practically every day.  Although many attempts have been made to use social media to engage moms, only a few have succeeded. To be successful, you must connect with her.  Here’s how . . .

Listen to Her Online Conversations

Moms are on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and Classmates.com.  They also author and comment on blogs.  But, their presence and interaction varies depending on who they are and what interests them.  Listen to the conversations she’s having on social media.  Understanding her will help you to engage in conversations that are relevant to her and influence dialogue that connects with her.

Listen to what she’s saying, and responding to, on social media sites.  Here are some sites you should visit to hear what influential moms are talking about:

  • TheMotherhood.com
  • CafeMom.com
  • TwitterMoms.com
  • BlogHer.com

Join in Her Conversations

Nobody likes a one-way conversation, in real life or online. Many social media campaigns aimed at engaging moms have failed because they’re re-purposed ads. Provide information that’s relevant, useful and meaningful to her life.  And keep this in mind at all times . . . a woman’s Highest Personal Value is establishing & nurturing relationships.

Once you’ve created the space for moms to interact with one another, take it one step further and allow them to interact with you. Listen to their feedback and act on their suggestions.  Moms who like you, will tell other moms about you.  One study found that 78% of moms who blog review products and 56% review websites and services.

If you’d like more information about how to connect with moms online or offline, just send me an email at fran@brandchamps.com

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