THE SAVORY OBSERVATIONS AND USEFUL ANECDOTES OF AN
Artful Realist
My name is LAURENCE VINCENT. I'm a brand strategist, author, speaker, photographer and lovable nerd based in Los Angeles, California. When I'm not writing here about brands and things that inspire me, I look after The Brand Studio at United Talent Agency. I believe brands must stand for real value; and that people value brands that fulfill a promise through artful experiences.
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Happy Face by howzey on Flickr.
I was recently asked a question that probably seems painfully obvious to answer. Why do so many serious brands create whimsical brand campaigns? You know the type — the old Washington Mutual Woo-hoo campaign for banking is a good example. The answer is: because they want you to like them.
Favorability is one of the most frequently used measures of brand health. We measure the degree to which a consumer likes or dislikes a brand because it is a somewhat reliable indicator of brand equity. In fact, a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that consumers consistently made better judgments about brands when they were in a positive mood. Thus, making a potential customer smile might encourage them to try or buy your brand.
While advertisers often rely on this strategy by delivering humorous campaigns that make us laugh and smile, too many brands forget the lesson when they deliver their brand experience. A great campaign won’t save the day when a customer is waiting for 20 minutes on a phone tree, getting lost in the bad information architecture of your website, or wandering aimlessly through a retail store trying to find your product. Experiences like those—which are so close to the actual moment of choice—often have people frowning. Which begs the real question: what are you doing to put your customers in a good mood when they’re ready to buy?
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Copyright 2012 by Laurence Vincent
