havas worldwide: building brands that matter

2013

Global Study: Building Brands That Matter

Global Study: Building Brands That Matter

31 countriesn=10,219

Extensive online survey created by Havas Worldwide and fielded by Market Probe International

Brand relevance is born of two elements: trust and dynamism. The latter incorporates perceptions of a brand’s mobility, energy, and promise. In any category, dynamism is

critical to leadership.

As companies have grown larger and more powerful, consumers’ expectations of them have magnified. It’s no longer acceptable to operate solely in service to one’s profits.

Brand perceptions increasingly are tied to sociability—how the brand interacts with consumers and others, especially in the

digital sphere.

The relative value consumers accord trust vs. dynamism depends in part on their views of the future—whether it is something they

fear or eagerly anticipate.

Key InsightsKey Insights

What we’ll cover

Introducing the Sweet Spot

Primary Drivers of Trust• Stand for Quality• Be Transparent• Proclaim Your Roots• Aim for Multilocal

Primary Drivers of Dynamism• Do Good for Now and for the Future• Be Sociable• Create a Seamless Brand Experience

Keep Your Sights on the Future

Introducing the Sweet Spot

Image credit: Stephenie Schukraft@flickr.com

• Unilever sells goods under 1,000+ brand names

• Samsung phones come in 86 model options• Amazon carries 180,000 varieties of flash drive

How do you get your brand to stand out in today’s crowded marketplace?

Image credit: taestell@flickr.com

• What you stand for• How you treat your workers, suppliers, local

communities, and the planet• What your employees say about you

And how do you navigate in an era when consumers know virtually everything about brands…and the companies behind them?

Your customers are watching…

know more these days about the companies that make the products and services they use

“I have become more interested in corporations’ conduct and brand image over the past few years”

“I know more these days about the companies that make the products and services I use”

“Within the last few months, I have actively looked for information on the reputation or ethics of a company”

“I sometimes check product labels to see what company owns the brand”

“Consumers want to buy from and do business with brands that share their values and beliefs. And they will punish those businesses they view as irresponsible.”

—David Jones, global CEO, Havas, in Who Cares Wins

…and they are ready and willing to punish those brands that fail to pass muster

“Thanks to the Internet and social media, consumers have more power today to punish a company that is behaving badly”

“I avoid shopping at stores that don’t treat their employees fairly”

“I feel guilty when I buy a product from a company or shop at a retailer I don’t trust/respect”

What the new consumer really wants, however, is not to work against brands but to work with them to solve society’s most pressing problems

How can you be such a brand?

Havas Worldwide’s Brand Momentum® studies show that when consumers merely trust a brand, their future purchase intent is limited. In contrast, when they trust a brand and also perceive it as dynamic, that intent more than doubles.

The optimal mix of trust and dynamism varies by market and category

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Image credit: Susan NYC@flickr.com

Emphasize trust (e.g., links to past) where progress is looked upon with unease

Emphasize dynamism (e.g., innovation, speed) where progress is eagerly awaited

Important: In no case can a brand rise to the top without embodying both of these elements, even if to an uneven degree

Primary Drivers of Trust

Trust Driver #1: Stand for Quality

Image credit: The Rocketeer@flickr.com

“Price is more important to me than brand name”

On the surface, price can seem like the consumer’s primary concern…

“A company’s reputation is its most valuable asset”

…yet the picture changes as we dig deeper into the value of reputation

“I’m willing to pay more for products made by a brand that has a good reputation”

For the following categories, which is more important: price or brand reputation?

Across categories, Prosumers and residents of emerging markets are less sensitive to price and more sensitive to brand reputation

How Do You Communicate a Reputation Built on Quality?

Perceptions of quality come from the product itself, of course, but also from brand associations: Who makes it? Where? What are its roots? Its prospects? Each brand needs to identify and communicate its particular strengths.

Image credit: jinterwas@flickr.com

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Bamix: Guaranteed for life—and known to outlive buyers

Air France

“A flight on Air France [mirrors] all the best aspects of traveling ‘in the French way’: inspired cuisine, fine wines, rich culture, exquisite fashion, and a notion of a certain style.”

—Claus Lindorff, managing director, BETC Luxe

Dyson

Dyson’s “product as hero” advertising boasts of its founder having rejected 5,127 prototypes before getting it “exactly right”

Chivas

“Instead of creating a TV commercial to justify the premium price of Chivas 25 and enhance its position, Chivas created a micro-movie, Déjà vu, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Wong Kar Wai. It enveloped consumers in a luxury experience.”

—Jackie Xu, planner, Havas Worldwide Shanghai

Trust Driver #2: Be Transparent

“It is important to me that companies operate transparently, letting consumers and others know what they’re doing”

How Do You Communicate Transparency?

Image credit: kxlly@flickr.com

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Patagonia’s Footprint Chronicles invites consumers into the company’s inner workings, detailing what they’re doing right—and what they need to improve

Auchan

Grocery retailer Auchan prints on its cash register receipts a bar code that customers can scan with a smartphone to access the company’s sustainability report

Image credit: Jason Michael@flickr.com

Honest by

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Belgian fashion company operates under a “100% transparency policy,” disclosing everything from product sourcing to price markups

Honest by

Caveat: This is such a thing as too transparent

Trust Driver #3: Proclaim Your Roots

Image credit: robysaltori@flickr.com

Links to the past have long been a valuable tool in brand building, but they can be even more important in times of upheaval and uncertainty

“In general, I like brands that use traditional methods of manufacturing (e.g., hand-forged, artisan-made)”

“I prefer to buy products manufactured in my country”

How Do You Communicate Roots?

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Image credit: BC Gov Photos@flickr.com

Shang Xia

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Shang Xia benefits from 2 distinct sets of roots: majority ownership by famed French luxury brand Hermès + authenticity of products crafted by Chinese artisans using indigenous materials

Armor-Lux

Image credit: MindtheHype.com

Famous for maritime-inspired knits, jerseys, and reefer jackets, Armor-Lux boasts of using “virtually the same techniques and fabrics” since its founding in 1938

Forest Essentials

Image credit: everythingthatmatters.com

India’s Forest Essentials adheres to tenets of world’s oldest holistic healing system (Ayurveda), using traditional ingredients and age-old formulas (e.g., lip balm “soaked in” the juices of the narangi fruit)

Quest Brewing Company

Though founded in 2013, Quest Brewing Co. has created a brand identity that draws on a dual set of roots: the “mythological ancient aesthetic” (!) of traditional Belgian brewing techniques and its setting in Greenville, South Carolina, a “community of outdoor explorers and activists.” In its branding, “ancient-but-earthy textures” are used to connect the old world with the natural world.

Trust Driver #4: Aim for Multilocal

For a while, local was all the rage…

Image credit: Sunfrog1@flickr.com

“In general, I trust local businesses”

“In general, I trust big businesses”

…but now global is back in the game

Both have a role to play

Local carries connotations of intimacy, community, authenticity, and humanity

Global suggests power, reach, standardization, and quality assurances

And yet global brands are fully capable of maintaining a local brand presence in myriad locations

Image credit: Allan Reyes@flickr.com

How Do You Communicate Multilocal?

Image credit: theother66@flickr.com

Dulux

Sold in China—a market with serious pollution concerns—Dulux’s anti-formaldehyde paint uses a natural active bamboo charcoal ingredient to enhance indoor air quality

American Express

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Small Business Saturday is a way for American Express to support local businesses on a large scale

Samsung

The Korean manufacturer’s “Built for Africa” products are designed for that continent’s frequent power surges and outages

Nike

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“It’s less about creating a unique local identity, more about creating local value. You don’t have to be an Australian brand to contribute to Australians’ lives in useful, meaningful ways. An example: Nike’s She Runs the Night brought women together in a running community—training, participating, encouraging, and protecting as a group. True value at a community level from a global colossus.”

—Phil Johnston, head of planning, Havas Worldwide Sydney

Tata

“In India, being local in itself is not an advantage. Brands need to look at local not from the narrow confines of geography but from the larger issue of ‘humanity.’ Brand Tata, the most loved local brand, has more than 100 companies in 80 countries around the globe. Its brand reputation in India, to a large extent, is built on the philanthropic and sustainable development programs it carries out in the local communities in which it operates, supporting health, education, culture, etc. If you are human, you will be loved.”

—Sourav Ray, chief strategy officer, Havas Worldwide India

Word to the wise: Never fake local

“I don’t like it when big companies conceal their ownership of a brand in order to make it seem ‘local’”

Primary Drivers of Dynamism

Dynamism Driver #1: Do Good for Now and for the Future

The new consumer expects businesses to step in where governments are falling short

“Large companies have an obligation to make the world better”

“Corporations are going to play an increasingly vital role in addressing the world’s major problems”

“It makes me feel good to buy products from companies that have a clear social purpose”

Purpose drives brand preference

“I prefer to buy from companies that share my personal values”

“I’m willing to pay more for a brand that contributes to the greater good/does good works”

How Do You Communicate a Purpose Beyond Profit?

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Levi’s

Levi’s jeans care tags now include a “donate to Goodwill” icon and encourage owners to wash them in cold water and line dry to reduce energy use

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola has installed interconnected vending machines in India and Pakistan. When people on opposite sides of the border place their hands on the interface simultaneously, a display of color and light is ignited. It’s intended to be a reminder of the common humanity of these two often-feuding nations.

Buy One, Give One

A growing number of brands—from Warby Parker (eyewear) to Smile Squared (toothbrushes) and One World Futbol (soccer balls)—are adopting a “buy one, give one” model, enabling each consumer purchase to double as a donation to a person in need

Transform Your Patch

For each bottle sold, a square centimeter patch of land was transformed into a functional public space

Dynamism Driver #2: Be Sociable

“How much does each of the following influence your opinion of a company?” (% answering “strongly or moderately”)

How Do You Improve Your Sociability?

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Image credit: vaXzine@flickr.com

Let Your Employees Shine

“What employees say about a company online is more convincing than any advertising or news article”

LVMH

To bring a luxury brand closer to consumers, Havas Worldwide Paris and Havas Event created a series of special events inviting the public into more than two dozen houses of LVMH in France, Italy, Spain, Scotland, and Poland. Participants were ushered through normally closed doors to get a firsthand glimpse of the brands at work, learning about their heritage, interacting with highly skilled craftspeople, and taking part in workshops and demonstrations.

IKEA

At IKEA’s Big Sleepover in UK, 100 customers were treated to consultations with sleep experts and given relaxing massages and guidance on how to pick their ideal bedroom furniture

Samsung

At SXSW music festival, Samsung offered new batteries to Galaxy owners running low on power. All they had to do was tweet the hashtag #poweron and their location. New, fully charged batteries were delivered by bike messenger.

Dynamism Driver #3: Create a Seamless Brand ExperienceAs we explored in Digital and the New Consumer, consumers now expect to transition seamlessly across platforms as they conduct consumer research and make purchases

Image credit: FracturedPixel@flickr.com

How Do You Create a Seamless Experience?

Evian

The Evian Smart Drop Internet-connected fridge magnet lets you transmit orders for home delivery of bottled water whenever you start to run low

Tesco

Image credit: jcdecaux-oneworld.com

Korean commuters can scan grocery bar codes to place orders for same-day home delivery

Harrods

During London Fashion Week, the luxury department store invited people to vote for their favorite looks on Facebook. The winners were featured in the retailer’s Burberry Autumn/Winter 2012 collection, essentially turning participating consumers into retail buyers.

Svpply

Svpply offers a real-time stream of products curated by members of the community and linked to places to buy them. Clicking the “Want” button offers influential users deals directly from the retailers.

Diesel

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Diesel Cam is a picture-taking fitting room that enables people to share tried-on outfits with Facebook friends

Closing Thought: Keep Your Sights on the Future

Creating the strongest possible brand is not a matter of measuring growth

In today’s markets, brand strength is based, first and foremost, on what people believe about where your company is headed—and on what you will accomplish for society along the way

For more insights from Havas Worldwide research—and to download the “Building Brands That Matter” white paper or view the interactive report—visit http://www.prosumer-report.com/blog/

And follow us on Twitter (@prosumer_report)