As you know, I have been off at a conference this past week. It was SoFabCon, a bloggers conference focusing on the relationship between brands, bloggers and consumers. It got me thinking about the concept of brands and I thought I would explore the idea in my drawings this week.
Loyalty is Magic
What makes you loyal to a brand? It’s a good question to contemplate because that loyalty is magic. It means you have voluntarily committed yourself to a company or product. You have committed to giving them your money again and again and again in exchange for something you highly value.
The Valuable Why
So the next question is, What made you value that product? This is also a good question because in the answer you will find out about yourself. Perhaps you value that product because it works really well, like an certain cleanser or car? Is the value of how the product is in how it makes you feel, like a spa or a restaurant? Or maybe the value in how it makes you appear to others, like a certain pair of shoes or a house in a certain neighborhood? Those are just 3 ways of valuation, I am sure there are many others so let me know how and why value something. By the way, do not infer any judgment on my part about those 3 various ways of valuation. They are all legitimate at times, and they are all illegitimate at other times.
Examples
The quote above succinctly explains why some brands are so far above other brands, and stay that way for generations. Here are 3 examples:
Bell Telephone – Can you think of anything more impossible than the idea that you can talk to someone with your real voice over a wire to someone hundreds and hundreds of miles away? It was impossible, unfathomable and absurd to contemplate for the average American. Then it became possible in 1876 and people rewarded the creator of that magic with their brand loyalty for many decades.
Ford Motor Company – They made owning an automobile, something that was impossible for the average American, possible. The creation of the Model T in 1908 allowed generations of families to do the impossible, simple as that.
Apple Computer – Here is an impossible idea; Let’s take the essence of a giant, room sized computer that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, and reduce it so it’s small enough that a person can have one in their home AND they can afford it. On top of that, let’s make it really cool and easy to operate. This idea was rejected by much smarter people than Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak because it was impossible.
And now, 35 years later, that company has the most loyal consumers of any brand on the face of the earth. Why? Because they gave us something impossible, and have continued to do so ever since. FULL DISCLOSURE: I am not being paid or compensated by Apple, but I have been one of those consumers, now on my 3rd Apple computer (each of the first 2 having lasted 7 years with no problems and the current one having lasted 5 years with only one, quickly resolved issue). In addition our family has had 3 other Apple computers, 4 iPhones, an iPad and numerous ipods over the years.
Brand Magic
What brands have given you magic and why? What have they done for you that was so impossible that you have rewarded them with your loyalty?
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, who is loyal to Oreos.
Quote by Nick Gadsby, Lawes Consulting
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