Brand Championship
The art of being a Brand Champion is being lost in Canada as more and more Global brands are being repatriated to the head offices in the United States. This is particularly true of packaged goods marketers who 20 years ago trained most of Canada's brand champions. This repatriation combined with the acceleration to on-line and social marketing calls for two things. A dedication amongst Canadian clients and agencies to embrace the power of brands and to do so in a way that engages consumers in a digital world.
Brands are promises. Brands are trust marks not trade marks. These are not my words they are Larry Light's and while I first heard them 15 years ago they continue to resonate today. If a brand makes a promise it must keep it. It must deliver on the promise. If I promise hot food in a clean restaurant I better deliver. If I serve cold food in a dirty restaurant I have broken the promise. I have lost your trust. My brand is no longer a trust mark.
The concept of trust is even more important today than ever. Consumers must continue to trust brands but more today than ever brand marketers must build trust with customers. With trust comes loyalty. Social marketing is no more than word of mouth on steroids. If a brand breaks a promise today it can be dead or at least severely injured in a matter of hours. Brands are still trust marks, perhaps more today than ever and the brands that will flourish in the new digital world are the ones that build these trust marks collaboratively and in partnership with their customers.
