by Temel Aksoy
Because of its impact on people, color is one of the most important elements in creating distinction from the competition and communicating the brand promise.
56. Bra
nd Management Also Is Managing the World of Symbols
In a world where there is an overabundance of similar goods, the most important features that distinguish brands from each other are visual elements. A drawing or a photograph can illustrate even the most complex ideas. For this reason, the first lesson that master advertisers teach beginners is “Don’t try to explain. Show them!” A picture truly is worth a thousand words.
Neuromarketing expert Patric Renvoise says that a brand can’t create the image it wants without a visual illustration of its value. The message that brands want to communicate enters the mind of the target audience only to the extent that it’s communicated visually. I agree.
Because signs, shapes and symbols were used for communication before the first human words, the primal human brain understands and remembers visual language more easily than written language (details in chapter 12). When the primal brain senses a threat or danger, it reacts without thinking. Before a person even has time to understand what it sees, the primal brain sees what is happening and takes the necessary action. The top-level brain, where we read, think and assign meaning, needs more time to understand what it sees. Communicating with visual language is thus faster and more effective than using words.
Brands need to use images that trigger emotions, but selecting these images is complicated by the fact that people can have varying responses to the same thing. Henry D. Thoreau said, “It’s not what you look at that matters; it’s what you see.” Most people think that human vision works like a camera. In other words, they think that the eye reflects what it sees in the world, and this image is sent to the human brain. However, biologist John Medina says that the truth is exactly the opposite—that people’s eyes see what the brain thinks. The brain sees what it wants to, not what it looks at. Thoreau was correct.
Looking is a physical act. When a person looks at something, there is a physiological event, but seeing is a conscious act of recognition, and understanding and making sense of the world is shaped by the mind of the beholder. Thus, people looking at the same pictures can interpret them differently. Seeing is affected as much by the mindset of the viewer as it is by the image itself.
According to Gestalt theory, people perceive the elements of a visual not as individual parts but as a meaningful whole of relationships. The human mind sees the pieces that form the whole and constructs a relationship between them, transforming what it sees into what is most meaningful for itself. Even when the mind doesn’t see the whole picture, it fills in the blanks. When a person looks at packaging, for example, the mind evaluates the whole formed from the colors, symbols and shapes. This is why choosing an appropriate design is so important.
According to semiology, which is the analysis of the meanings associated with symbols in the human brain, every sign has a meaning. Semiology is concerned with any area involving visuals, ranging from works of art and advertising to sporting matches, political propaganda, product design and graffiti.
How is this demonstrated by brands? With its logo, Mercedes conjures up images of a star emblem. The human mind attaches meaning to the star, putting it in the same place as engineering and quality. People immediately recognize a Coca-Cola bottle even if the name isn’t printed there.
Photos and videos can be even more evocative than logos. A person who sees a wood stove may remember the crackling sound of burning wood, the aroma, the chestnuts roasting on top of it, the tales told by their elders around the stove, the children listening to these tales and the type of narrative used. People see through their own particular lenses. In the mind of a person who grew up with a stove, a picture of a stove evokes feelings and images that may be vastly different from what the same picture evokes in the mind of those who didn’t.
Good communicators have an excellent understanding of what is associated with certain objects in the mind of people from their society. They understand that a well-designed symbol has the power to communicate the intended message in the quickest and most effective manner. That’s why the directional signs on roads and in public areas have the same meaning in all languages and cultures. Thanks to these visual elements, people understand what they need to do or not do and find their way without using any words.
The Internet and globalization have made the creation of symbols more important than ever. With digital technology, we’re living in an era saturated with visuals. We read less and watch more. The more technology advances, the more powerful visual expression becomes. Platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest have created a world that’s far more visual than anything experienced by previous generations. Globalization is also creating a common visual language. The same designs now have the same meaning in cultures all over the world.
Because the modern era is so connected and so visuals-oriented, marketers working in branding today must understand the critical importance of semiology. A brand begins to manage the world of symbols the moment it is born. When brands select a name and accompanying colors, logos and emblems, they’ve chosen the most important symbols of communication for the duration of their lifespan. These decisions are the most important decisions a company makes about its brand. Brand identity is one area in which a company be too careful, and all hair-splitting is justified. As time passes, it becomes more difficult and expensive to correct mistakes made at this stage.
I say this several times in the book because it bears repeating: Every brand is communicating a message about itself at every touchpoint with customers. Therefore, meticulous management of the world of symbols is critical. It’s impossible to properly manage a brand if the necessary care isn’t taken.
That care begins with establishing a clear and consistent brand identity. Technically speaking, brand identity is the name given to the sum total of visual elements consisting of a brand’s emblem, logo, font and colors. The identity created by designers is applied to the brand’s (company’s) letterhead, offices, stores, packaging, brochures, company vehicles, website, etc. Brands dress up in their identities to meet their customers (consumers). The visual elements that constitute brand identity are more than just “window dressing”: they form its stance, its promise and what it wants to accomplish.
Brand identity is obviously not everything. But just as people’s appearance, clothing style, accessories, hair styles, makeup, and perfume or cologne provide important clues about who they are, a brand’s identity gives us clues about what it is. People look at a brand’s identity to predict what kind of experience it promises.
DISTRIBUTION
57. Bra
nds without Widespread Distribution Cannot Grow
Marketing isn’t a world where people develop personal and meaningful relationships with brands, but a world where millions of people select from among dozens if not hundreds of brands. It’s a world ruled by the laws of large numbers (details in chapter 24). In this world where brands struggle to differentiate from their rivals, people don’t agonize over their choices. They make their purchase decisions with as little thought as possible.
People aren’t preoccupied about brands during the normal course of life (details in chapter 37). It’s not the consumer’s job to think about brands but, rather, the work of brand directors and the marketing professionals who serve those brands.
When people are shopping, they want to buy a product or service with as little hassle as possible. No matter how well known a brand is or how good its image is, if people don’t see it when they go to a point of sale, they won’t take the trouble to go to a different sales point to buy that particular brand. They’ll simply purchase the rival’s brand they see in front of them.
To sell a brand, the most important thing is to have it physically available at the sales point (and/or onl
ine). The more sales points a brand acquires, the more likely it is that shoppers will see and buy the brand.
Many brands have never achieved success simply because of inadequate distribution, even though they have good products at a good price. On the other hand, many brands with mediocre products are successful because of a strong and extensive distribution network, their availability at points of sale and their ability to be noticed by shoppers.
Most marketers underestimate the importance of distribution, but in today’s competitive environment, the most crucial element of a company’s success is whether or not the company has established a widespread and adequate distribution network.
Most marketers are inclined to think that it’s more important to manage the product, price and especially the advertising, and that the business of marketing requires creativity. They assume that making agreements with sales channels to ensure the brand’s physical availability and managing the brand at these sales points is routine work that anybody can do. This is a huge mistake that runs absolutely contrary to the facts. Today, the most challenging function of marketing may be the sales and distribution function, as this work requires the most concentration, effort and intelligence.
Companies that control sales channels (supermarkets and large chain stores) are today more powerful in every country of the world than companies engaged in manufacturing and marketing. One of the most difficult tasks for any marketing company is making beneficial agreements with the massive companies that control the sales channels so that their products reach a good level of availability in these venues. Only those with experience in this business can appreciate how difficult it is. For a company to manage this area properly, it needs a strategic perspective, highly competent directors and the necessary know-how and financial resources.
In a world where the balance of power has shifted from companies that manufacture and market to those that control sales channels, ensuring that a brand is available through multiple distribution channels—each of which has different characteristics—and managing this process properly at all of these points of purchase is a very complicated task.
On the other hand, for a company that manages its own sales points, the job has its own peculiarities; however, the difficulties remain the same . . . or even increase. It’s very expensive to invest in new stores and a very challenging task to train the sales personnel in these venues.
Today, almost every brand has the potential to achieve tangible gains in growth through improvements in sales and distribution, especially for those who advertise nationwide. However, many brands overlook the potential of distribution, mainly because making improvements in this area is complicated, expensive and time-consuming.
But how does a brand become more accessible at points of sale? Byron Sharp says that there are three primary principles for being an easily accessible brand:
Is the brand for sale at the appropriate locations?
If the brand isn’t available at the points of purchase where customers shop, this means loss of potential sales. To sell to buyers a brand must achieve optimal distribution that includes the locations where the rival brand is sold.
Does the brand have the right product and the right price that the sales points require?
Sales aren’t guaranteed just because a brand is available in a sales channel. Every brand’s product offering and pricing must be suitable for its points of sale and have appropriate payment options. Companies must take into account the characteristics of the sales channel and not have a one-size-fits-all approach.
Does the brand stand out at the sales point?
To be purchased, the brand must be noticeable. One reason that many brands don’t reach their sales potential, even though they have a presence, is because they’re lost among their rivals. A brand must be available in the sales channel, but that’s not the end of the story. It must also stand out among the crowd of competitors.
While I was writing this book, Byron Sharp added an eleventh marketing law to the electronic version of his book How Brands Grow:
For a brand to achieve a large market share, it must achieve “weighted distribution” of 80%, but that’s not sufficient. (Law 11)
This new marketing law shows that there is a nonlinear relationship between a brand’s physical availability and its market share, and that even a weighted distribution of 80% may not be enough to achieve high sales.
58. Ens
uring Online Availability Is Just as Difficult as Achieving Physical Availability
Today, most brands integrate brick-and-mortar and online sales by selling in physical stores as well as on the Internet. The real and virtual worlds overlap in shopping, just like they do in many other areas.
In developed countries, online shopping accounts for approximately 9% of total sales. In almost every country in the world, e-commerce customers tend to be young, educated individuals with higher incomes. Furthermore, because of home delivery, e-commerce is a very useful channel for mobility-challenged people, families with children and the elderly.
Because e-commerce is a relatively new development, marketers hold a wide range of conflicting opinions on the subject. Findings from the research on e-commerce conducted by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute’s Magda Nenycz-Thiel and Jenni Romaniuk are blazing a trail for executives involved in online commerce. What they found:
The behavior exhibited by shoppers on e-commerce websites is the same as that observed at physical points of sale. Shoppers purchase from multiple e-commerce brands and not just a single one. Those who purchase solely from a single e-commerce website in any product category are a small minority (details in chapter 28).
A small percentage of the sales by brands that are starting to build an online presence in addition to the physical channel move to the e-commerce channel. In other words, a small minority of shoppers buy the brands they see in brick and mortar stores online. However, the opposite is also true. In many categories, consumers prefer to buy brands they see on the Internet from a physical store. Therefore, selling a brand online will improve its sales in the physical channel. The best approach is for every brand to facilitate the online–offline transitions made by shoppers. In this regard, brands should succeed with the “single-customer, multiple-channel” approach, which isn’t easy to handle—especially for large incumbent companies.
The products that shoppers purchase online may have specifications different from those sold in physical stores. Some product categories or some subcategories have a tendency to be more demanded online. It’s essential that the brand manage its e-commerce activities according to shopper preferences.
Online shopping is faster than physical shopping, so brands must understand the importance of this peculiarity and prioritize the display of their best-selling products on their website. Brands must satisfy the speed and convenience requests of shoppers.
Being one of the brands that shoppers recall when a category comes to mind is extremely important in e-commerce (details in chapter 69). Thus, opening an online store doesn’t guarantee that a brand will make sales via this channel. Every brand that has an online presence must devote a separate advertising budget dedicated to this channel and use adequate advertisement tools and techniques.
It’s easier for a shopper to leave a website because of a difficulty they encounter than it is for them to leave a physical point of sale. For brands to be successful online, their e-commerce websites must be extremely user-friendly. The reason that many brands today are unable to reach their online sales targets is because of technical difficulties, such as shoppers being unable to easily find the products they’re looking for and inability to easily check out. Brands must eliminate any obstacle to sales.
Brands that sell only online are not competing only against other e-commerce websites. These brands are also competing with all of the brands that sell at brick-and-mortar stores. Therefore, all of the marketin
g laws apply to online shopping too (details from chapters 26 to 35).
It’s true that brands have a lot of trouble penetrating physical sales channels. This difficulty in market penetration is compounded even further for brands that want to sell online, and it’s getting worse all the time. In the future, it will be far more challenging for a brand to have an online presence than a presence in physical channels. Brands that are thinking about e-commerce must take this into account and not waste time.
Offering shoppers an online option is increasingly important to all brands. Online commerce offers customers more opportunities to shop from their repertoire of brands. As such, it’s important to remember that branding work utilizing these channels is still subject to the same marketing laws.
PRICE DISCOUNTS
59. Eas
e of Purchase Does Not Make Brands Grow
Back when production was difficult, company owners and executives’ main focus was having a product that they were proud to produce. All company employees strove to manufacture a better product. Thanks to technological advances and improved management skills, particularly after the 1990s, companies in developed and developing countries experienced an extraordinary increase in production efficiency.
As production soared, supply overwhelmed demand in almost every product category. Creating and finding customers (consumers) became more important. Brands that had difficulty selling their products started using price discounts as a common way to increase short-term sales. For instance, in the 1980s, the ready-made apparel sector discounted prices only twice in a given calendar year; now, the sector is in a continuously discounted state. Price promotions are the “new normal” in almost every product category.