There are millions of brands out there and our poor customers are subjected to the most cluttered marketplace they have ever seen, over saturated with messages and clutter. If you are going to compete against this clutter and make sure your brand is strong against your rivals, you need to make sure you are always ‘out there’. You need to be top of mind when your customer is suddenly ready to think about you.
A great way to resonate with your customers is through creating a culture. People don’t connect with businesses, or with products. People connect with values, personality, and emotion. All of those factors form the base of brand culture.
Look at brands like Quicksilver, Louis Vuitton, and QANTAS. All from different industries, appealing to different customers. Yet they have one thing in common: a strong culture and personality associated with their brand.
Quicksilver is synonymous with surfing, the beach, wetsuits and board shorts. For years, lovers of the surf have sported Quicksilver branded gear to not only serve a purpose at the beach, but to set themselves apart as being ‘cool’, by wearing their gear. The introduction of Roxy added value for the female demographic, attracting women to the surf culture.
Louis Vuitton is the epitome of design in accessories and now fashion. The signature brand and colours of Louis Vuitton, their visual merchandising in store, and their positioning as being designer, luxurious and exclusive are all characteristics that rub off onto the customer. The customer wants to become a part of the high fashion environment.
QANTAS may be an airline but their rich Australian heritage and the way in which they embrace their roots is a quality the Australian public resonates with. So much so that their airline safety record, and quality service are secondary points, considered after the identity of the flying red kangaroo.
The commonalities between these very different brands are culture. Each brand has their own personality, their own products, different customer types, but they have all built an emotional connection with their customers. It’s the customer-brand relationship, the need to be seen and associated with that particular brand; those qualities build brand loyalty, a bi-product of culture.
Need to work on your brand culture some more? Chilli can help you out. Have a look at our Branding E-Book for more case studies, tips and tricks. Having a healthy brand image and culture associated with it are vital to cutting through and resonating with your customers. So how does your brand rate? Contact us today to find out more.
