let’s talk about brand. identity reputation expectation
TRANSCRIPT
LET’S TALK ABOUT BRAND
IDENTITY
REPUTATION
EXPECTATION
“Your brand is what other
people say about you when you’re not in the room”
Jeff Bezos, CEO Amazon
• Brand is a strategic beacon• Brand is a shortcut to a decision • Brand can craft the customer experience • Brand differentiates in a grey market• Brand can create value
Brand is …
“Brand is a customers gut feeling about a
product, service or company”
Marty Neumeier, Author ‘ZAG’
CONNECTION?
RESEARCH…?
5
WHAT IS A BRAND
CONNECTION?
Brand connection is really important
Considera-tion Purchase
Pay a premium
No brand connection High brand connec-tion
79%64%60%
2%5%15%
Surely perceived ‘business value’ makes the brand connection?
Don't see business value See business
value
Agree with statement: "This brand will help us achieve business goals"
DisagreeAgree
Agree with the statement: “We will definitely consider this brand in the future”
81%19%
26%
74%
But sadly business value is not a differentiator
Average agreement with the statement: "This brand could help us achieve our goals"
US professional service sector…
85%
And buyers can’t see or don’t believe the suppliers “unique benefits”
YESNO
Q: Do you see a real difference between suppli-ers and value the difference enough to pay for it?
86% 14%
Personal value trumps business value every time
Business ValuePersonal Value
43%21%
• Functional benefits• Business outcomes
• Professional benefit - career en-hancement
• Social benefits - popularity• Emotional benefits - confidence • Self image benefits - pride
The Rider: The conscious rational thinking brain
The Elephant: The automaticvisceral emotion-albrain
EMOTIONS MAKE STORIES STICK
THEY’RE LIKE NEON SIGNS TELLING YOUR BRAIN“REMEMBER THIS”
WHEN EMOTIONS ARE TRIGGERED,DOPAMINE FLOODS THE BRAIN
LOGIC DOESN’T BRING ON THE DOPAMINE WHICH IS WHY IT DOESN’T STICK
?Smoking harms
nearly every organ in the body and is the leading
cause of preventable death in the US
RATIONAL MESSAGING AND TACTICS (Targeting the rider brain)
AGN Brand factor: Excellence and Connectedness
Functional benefitsConnectednessEvidence quality of serviceEvidence quality of people
Business outcomesClient case studiesClient quotationsPerformance enhancementThought leadership
EMOTIONAL MESSAGE AND TACTICS(Targeting the elephant brain)
AGN Brand factor: Personality
Professional benefit - career enhancement
Social benefits – popularity
Emotional benefits - confidence
Self image benefits - pride
AGN - Why bother?
• Reduced relevance and respect
• Intense competition• Audit commoditised• Innovation pressures• New entrants • Association with GFC
26
The Financial Reporting Council criticized the Big Four accounting firms for continued failings in their audit work at banks and building societies… Auditors criticized for
role in financial crisis…
Big Four Firms to Be Questioned on Push into Consulting…
It’s a grey sector…
And the big 4 like it that way
AGN – its an open goal!
29
• Complacency/complicity of Big 4
• Lack of differentiation • Market opportunity• Define your category• Niche deserted by the
big firms?• Create an emotional
connection • Show some personality
HOW CAN WE EMERGE FROM THE GREY?
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble makers. The round pegs in square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things.”
Steve Jobs, Founder Apple
Challenger Brandsplay heavily on making anemotionalconnectionwith theirmarkets
33
Not No1 nor are they niche
34
Ambitions that exceed their marketing resources
35
Want to change faster than the market
CREDO 1
Break with the past and redefine the category upstream
CREDO 1
Break with the past and redefine the category upstream
CREDO 2
Create a lighthouse identity
A strong and different identity and positioning
CREDO 8
Become idea centered
Constantly defining new tools, services, thought leadership
Could AGN be a Challenger?
‘AGN inside’
Remember brand isn’t…
• Brand is not a logo• Brand is not colours and design• Brand is not lipstick
on a pig!
Brand is about makingan emotional connection with theclient
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The brand is…
• Brand is a strategic beacon (remote control)• Brand is a shortcut to a decision • Brand guides values and culture• Brand influences staff behaviour
Brand experience 50/50?
Customer Brand
Proposition
Employer Brand
Proposition
Brand DNA
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Why should customers consider you?Why should they come back for more?
EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
Why should people join you?Why should they stay?
THE AUTHENTIC IDEA ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS THAT SHINES THROUGH
Professional services
Automotive
Source: Interbrand
COSMETICS PEOPLE
PROD ADVERTISING
AUTO PEOPLE PRODUCT ADVERTISING
PROFSERVICES PEOPLE PROD
ADV
80%
60%
10% 10%
30%10%
80% 10% 10%
How brand is experienced
Why its important…
• Increased performance
• Client retention
• Advocacy• Discretionary effort• Loyalty • Recruitment costs• Continuity• Loss of investment
200% annual net profit
18% higher productivity
250% revenue growth
12% greater customer advocacy
50% fewer sick days
87% less likely to leave organisation
The top 25% oforganisations where employees sitea high de-gree of trust outperform thebottom 25% by
People power
• Culture of participation and two-way dialogue must be fostered
• Involve employees in process early to articulate, refine or validate purpose
• Co-create and iterate purpose to increase buy-in
Employees are the brand. Social media - instantaneous broadcast to clients and colleagues. Reputation is largely in their hands
The rise of shared values
Employees are demanding organizations rediscover their social purpose and put it at the core of how they conduct business and engage with their stakeholders to create shared value.
“Great companies nurture a dialogue to put social purpose at the forefront of everyone's mind and ensure that employees use organisational values as the guide to their business decisions”
How Great Companies Think Differently, HBR, Nov. 2011
It’s a war out there…
We have to tell a different distinctive
story….
Linking Connectedness Excellence and
Personality with the emotional and rational
needs of the client
Engaging staff along the way getting their help in
defining this position
A clear counterpoint to the Big 4 and their like
more likely to consider buying from you
more likely to purchase
more likely to pay a premium
Brand connection means…
Things to consider…• Personal benefits of brand are twice as powerful as
functional benefits…• Are there are elements of a challenger brand
strategy that could take us forward?• The complacency of the
sector is an open goal• Our people are our
most powerful assets in the brand war
Every business owner here is driven by one
seductive fact…
The future is worth fighting for…
See you after the break
AGN InternationalNew Delhi, November 2014
“Change Worth Making”