Let’s continue to develop what’s turned into the theme of our posts this week: marketing can be more effective when the hard-sell is avoided. David Meerman Scott refers to this approach as building your brand bank account. Take it away, David:
The concept is that each brand has a virtual bank account with items being deposited into the account and withdrawn from the account at all times. Huib says that when a brand gives more than it receives, it will grow (just like when you deposit more money over time into your bank account than you withdraw, your net worth will grow).
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Brands add to their accounts by creating things of value and giving them to people. For example, Apple has the genius bar and their free seminars. Corporate social responsibility is another form of giving (adding to your brand bank account).
Brands withdraw from their accounts through the attention that they demand from consumers in the form of television commercials, print ads and the like.
“Probably about 90% of current marketing is shouting at the consumer; ‘buy me!’” Huib says. “Whether it is on TV, web or radio, people are watching a movie, checking out a website or listening to a song when a commercial is forced upon them. Marketing people tend to think people like their commercials, they have worked so hard on, to me it is obviously a withdrawal.”
The ability to shift your perspective is key here. People tend to be proud of their work and that’s true of marketers, as well. But it is of critical importance to understand marketing from the perspective of the consumer. Besides for the Super Bowl and other rare occasions, traditional marketing tends to interrupt people from something else they’d rather be doing. Marketers need to understand this. This, and not a simple follow-the-leader mentality when it comes to the latest fad, is why social media is so exciting: it engages consumers where and when they’re ready to listen and to interact.
How are you building your brand bank account?
Related posts:
- How Conan Embraced Twitter, Revived his Career, and Became a Brand
- Gatorade: New Leader In Online Brand Monitoring
- What is a Brand Worth?
- State Farm Finds a Viral Hit
- How to Use the iPad to Build Your Brand
