T-Mobile could create a unique brand experience

This will be interesting.

T-Mobile have posted an invitation on You Tube to attend a flashmob event tomorrow night (6-7pm 30th April) at Trafalgar Square in London. 

T-Mobile's Liverpool Street Station Flashmob on and off-line campaign is very good, but this event could help take it to a whole new level.

Flashmobs depend on social media but I think the massive increase in Twitterers will magnify interest in this event due to the retweet button, which causes stories like this to spread like wildfire (aka the 'Boyle' effect). 

I think this event could achieve significant scale (and maybe notoriety) and create a unique brand experience that people who turn-up will talk about.

How cool is that? 

I might even go there to see what happens.

Honda's new TV ad works for me

Honda Insight - Let It Shine from Honda on Vimeo.

I like this new Honda Insight ad. 

It has a powerful idea, stunning visuals and a gentle touch. 

It delivers the kind of brand experience I would expect from them.

I don't own one but it got my attention and I could be persuaded. 

The Power of Dreams.

I guess that is the kind of reaction they want. 

A winning customer service strategy will deliver brand experiences that delight.

This post by Cardell Insights Group provides some really useful tips about how brand organisations should handle customer service (Provide basic information that consumers can easily access on the web; For anything else invest in good human customer service people; Use metrics other than call times or first time resolution).

There are a few other success drivers out there:

• P&G principle that: ‘The Consumer is Boss’ drives everything they do.
• Zappos core values includes: ‘Deliver WOW through Service'.
• Apple state that: ‘Service is Marketing’ and ‘Solving Problems is an Opportunity.’

Why is it that so many brand organisations are spending effort and money on making a Brand Promise but ignoring the opportunity to Delight consumers?

I think it is pretty simple.

Any time a potential or existing consumer calls (or drop-in) to chat, enquire, buy, complain, etc, regard it as an opportunity to delight them...show them you care...apply some magic...make them feel loved.

This is a sure way to accelerate consumers down the Path to Advocacy.

The simplicity and power of posters

Kevin Roberts (CEO Saatchi & Saatchi) recently posted this picture and story about a poster that was produced at the beginning of World War 2.

‘The intent of the poster was to convey a message from the King to his people, to assure them that all necessary measures to defend the nation were being taken, and to stress an attitude of mind rather than any specific aim.’

Kevin also says  this  is great advice for today’s tough times.

This works for me.

Is this the ultimate multi-sense alcohol brand experience?

This is a bit of fun.

A bar which delivers an intoxicating vapour of gin & tonic that will leave consumers feeling slightly merry.

To add to the experience the bar is decorated with pictures of giant limes and massive straws, and will play a sound track of liquid being poured over ice cubes.

I am not sure that I would support this way of delivering a Brand Experience but it will no doubt provide consumers with a memorable 'multi-sense' experience that they will remember and talk about – provided they don’t spend too long there! 

A brand experience that lets consumers touch/sample the brand is one of the most powerful ways to increase their likelihood to buy

I was interested to read a recent post by Nigel Hollis (Chief Global Analysis – Millward Brown) about a research paper by Joann Peck and Susan B. Shu that proves that touching a product makes you more likely to buy it.

The paper says: “...in four studies, we found that touch does connect a person to an object by increasing the feeling of ownership of the object.”

This supports learnings from Touchpoints ROI Tracker that consistently shows, across virtually every category, that sampling is one of the most influential ways to deliver brand experience.

This is not a new a new idea.

After all, who buys a new outfit without being able to try it on, or a car without being able to test-drive it?

I recommend that any brand that wants to attract new users (errr I guess that would be most brands!) should look for ways to deliver cost effective brand experiences that lets potential consumers touch, sample and/or play with it.

It should not be complicated.

Develop a brand experience strategy that encourages consumers to interact with the brand.

Test it.

Do the numbers to check the ROI.

If it works, roll it out....

Dominoes employees rapidly deliver worst kind of brand experience due to the infectious power of Twitter

On Tuesday this week, because of a posting I spotted on Twitter, I saw the Dominoes horror movie that had just been posted on YouTube.

In case you missed the video it basically showed two employees at Dominoes doing some pretty ghastly ‘tricks’ with cheese and salami while making sandwiches for an unsuspecting home delivery customer.

In matter of days, as a result of the retweeting function of Twitter, this video nasty had been viewed by over one million people.

Dominoes are a large brand that has invested effort and dollars carefully building their brand reputation. Overnight this reputation has been tarnished, partly because of the way retweets can spread this type of story like wildfire.

In my view this very clearly demonstrates the infectious and potentially dangerous power of social media, which is now being dramatically accelerated by Twitter.

This is scary stuff.

In a week when Amazon also got caught out by the speed of Twitter it is time for brand organisations to rewrite the rules about how they approach crisis management.

If you are responsible for brand experience management in your organisation be warned. This type of issue is probably going to become more common, I therefore recommend you put together a savvy and agile team who really get how social media works and who are prepared to proactively manage this type of situation.

Motorbike brand experiences at the dealer need to be fixed

I was surprised to read at 1st5ive.com of research by J D Power that revealed that 51% of new motorcycle buyers cite dealer-related issues as a reason for rejecting a motorcycle brand; and that one of the primary dealer-related issues for rejecting a brand is the inability to test ride a bike. 

As with all categories, to win over the long term motorbike brands must deliver good brand experiences ( to the consumer) at all stages of the Path to Advocacy. 

I am not into motorbikes and have never tried to buy one, but cannot imagine why anyone would buy without being able to try it out first. 

What is relatively unique about the motorbike category is that the brand experience delivered at the usage stage is far richer compared to the usage stage with most others categories. [Usage is when the consumer uses the brand; not just when they unpack and use it for the first time (second ‘moment of truth’), but every time it is used.] 

Think about it.

The majority of brand categories are low interest products that are used day to day (eg FMCG, Household Appliances, etc)

Some brand categories can be fairly desirable but after the first usage they become everyday (eg Electricals, Fashion, etc)

A few brand categories are special/useful/fun, but the excitement of using them generally doesn’t last too long (think iPod)

The motorbike category is different. Motorbike ownership and usage is all about the thrill of riding...the open road...the power...the speed...the noise...the smell...and in some cases the bond with fellow riders.

I don’t think any other category offers a sustainable usage brand experience to match it (except maybe performance cars).

However, motorbike brands can’t rely on the user experience alone. They should also be ensuring that dealers deliver great brand experiences to the consumer during the process of trying to select a motorbike and then find ways to delight them once they buy.