From Love Bite to Lovemark

In the ongoing ‘battle of the brands’, the brand advocate is the go-to weapon of mass seduction. Always there to offer a Facebook thumbs-up; forever putting ‘the dukes’ up in times of defensive need – there’s no denying that they show love like no other.

Indeed, the majority of brands seem to breathe a sigh of relief at having them – especially when the going gets tough. And while there’s nothing wrong with a comfort blanket (we are but human) – the question remains: Why don’t more consumers react to the very same brands the way their advocate cousins do; surely it’s not just about product preference?

In a recent interview with Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi and Founder of the now famous marketing concept that is Lovemarks, we touched upon just this, discussing why certain brands become lovemarks while others fall at the wayside. For those of you who aren’t aware of the lovemark principle, it goes a little something like this:

“Mere products command neither love nor respect. Fads attract love, but without respect this love it just a passing infatuation. Brands attract respect, even lasting respect, but without love. Lovemarks command both respect and love. This is achieved through the trinity of mystery, sensuality and intimacy.”

Boiling it down even further, noted marketer Kevin Duncan explains: “Creating loyalty beyond reason requires emotional connections that generate the highest levels of love and respect or your brand”. So what are we left with?

Well, in short, for a brand to travel through ‘Brandlightenment’ and become a lovemark, it needs to walk beyond the walls of its own product statement and find its imagination. It needs to become what Roberts’ jokingly refers to as acting “…like a soap opera”. And to do so, it needs to qualify three key ingredients:

Why is Guinness the global leader in Stout sales? Is it because they have a superior product? Is it because they came from an area famous for Stout production? Or is it because they’re amazing at telling stories that capture imaginations and put you on a drip of escapism? Bingo. This is their latest advert if you have no idea what I’m talking about.

Keeping with the Guinness theme, the below advert oozes sensuality across the board. Even the decade-long dominance of their strapline “Good things come to those who wait” played havoc on the senses when combined with footage of the floating black gold of a pint of Guinness. You want to touch it, taste it… be alone with it. Which leads me nicely on to the final ingredient…

The large majority of Guinness’ campaigns over the years have featured consumers at a local level. Surfers waiting for the perfect waves in a secret spot. Villagers hiding barrels so they can crack them open under the cover of darkness. An entire town painting its buildings black for a covert party. Whatever it is, Guinness uses commitment through the idea of waiting for something superior with the passion for serving locals with an experience they can’t get anywhere else to drive intimacy. Simple.

I’d like to believe that the product isn’t the brand anymore; that belongs to the consumer. Indeed, as Roberts explains: “Any mp3 player will work. But are you going to buy them – or are you going to buy an iPod?”

It’s time to start thinking the same about your brand. “Start thinking of these people who love what you do as inspirational consumers. Help them get behind your brand and watch it accelerate into a lovemark,” as Roberts puts it. And it works for services too. Unless you run Ryanair. Author: Nick Pryke

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Marketing