Page 14 - Sensory Power - Chinese

Mark Ritson doesn’t hold The risk for brands that channel
back, and he has a point. disproportionate energies into higher
Are brands neglecting the order purpose, is that they fall short on
the more tangible elements of the
more tangible elements of consumers’ experience.
the marketing mix? And if so,
are they risking their most By all means stand for something, but
with today’s savvy consumer, make
valuable asset: trust? absolutely sure that you are delivering
it. Purpose without substance is just
THE FRAGILITY OF TRUST spin - and in the modern world spin is
called out!
This is the age of the savvy consumer.
THE LOSS OF IDENTITY
Never before have they been so
informed. Never before have they felt Maintaining and building trust is
so empowered. This ‘new normal’ has not the only challenge.
raised levels of scepticism towards
brands and corporations. An even bigger issue for brand owners
is a loss of clear identity. For emerging
When spending time with consumers, generations, long-form advertising is no
it’s increasingly common to encounter longer the way brand messages are
comments that second guess the absorbed. Instead, snippets of ‘brand
motives of brand managers: “Oh, I can noise’ are wedged into our lives
see what they’re trying to do here!” through omnipresent social media
channels.
There is a new fragility of trust
between consumers and brands, as As Keith Weed, Unilever’s CMO
underlined by various global measures. observes, brands that rely heavily on
This is not to suggest a crisis, but it is this mechanism run the risk of
clear that no brand can take trust for fragmented and failing brand equities.
granted. The ability to enjoy consistent and
compelling meaning across a large and
varied audience is lost.
REMEMBER, THERE IS NO
CLOSER INTERACTION
BETWEEN A BRAND AND THE

CONSUMER THAN THE
PRODUCT ITSELF.