Brand Ideology in the Age of Disruption

By Sam Fiorella | Social Enterprise | Comments are Closed | 18 April, 2012 | 0

The latest posts here on Sensei Blogs have been inspired by our insights into businesses that have been living through the age of disruption, which references the interruption of a business’ outbound communications (branding, public relations, marketing and brand messaging) by consumer messages.

In this series:
The Courage of Passion Brands and Leaders
Stop Measuring Customer Service
Changing the Rules of Engagement

Where savvy marketers used to be able to dictate consumer preferences and create a brand’s image through recency (reach and frequency) of media placement, today these attributes are formulated by the wisdom of crowds.

More worrisome to business executives is the fact that this phenomenon, beyond the disruption in marketing and PR messaging, has disrupted their ability to dictate the public’s perceived value in their brands. They understand the power in perceived value and are taking notice that it’s not as easily manipulated as it once was.

Democratization of Brands

Social technologies have led the way in this power shift. Some argue that “social media” has inspired consumers to take a stand but that is an oversimplification. It has given a bigger voice to existing public opinions previously limited to those in one’s personal proximity and ensured those opinions are shared and viewed for a longer period of time. This alone has changed the dynamics in the power-struggle between marketers and consumers.

What social technologies have really created is a next-level bandwagonims. Opinions shared socially seem to congeal into blobs and form new entities of their own. Advertising has been usurped by community dialogue and so a brand is now elevated or dismissed, empowered or disenfranchised by the prevalent group-think paradigm, not by the marketers pen and wit. And public opinion is fickle.

How much your brand is liked is the new barometer of how much advocacy it will generate. The new rules of social SEO are co-conspirators in this new social-world order by elevating (or not) a brand’s listings by contextual, social commentary within your social graph. This doesn’t render the quality of your product irrelevant but it can’t be relied on soley for business success.

Business products and services can no longer be “just a little better”. Because of the momentum that is carried through socially-charged bandwagonism, brands must strive for radical changes in their products as a way to stand out from the crowd. Truly an upward battle in an increasingly competitive and fluid marketplace.

The Rise of Brand Ideology

Successful businesses must now stand for a great idea, not just a great product. Products, no matter how great they may be, are commodities. The need for a product or the value it has in the consumer’s life is too easily dictated by public opinion – to its benefit or its detriment. Business leaders looking for an edge must create another point of differentiation: the brand’s ideology.

Brand Ideology is that almost mystical association a product or business has with the aspirations, beliefs and lifestyle of its target market. It sparks the imagination of the public instead of simply providing a utilitarian tool. Religion and politics have learned to harness this power; a lesson that business can learn from.

Where a product or message can be easily commoditized or disrupted by the public and competitors, ideology is more sticky…it elicits a passion that even great products simply cannot match. Brand ideology creates Passion Brands, which attract the strongest, most loyal and most active advocates.

Businesses can reverse their fortunes in spite of the brand disruption. Instead of having their product strategy enslaved by “wisdom of crowds”, create an ideology association that can surf the media to build advocacy. Make advocacy your business strategy.

Share your thoughts – pros or con in the comments below. Are affiliations more powerful in the public eye than accomplishments? Is advocacy a business strategy?

Sam Fiorella – Sensei
Feed Your Community, Not Your Ego

Join us tonight on Twitter for the #bizforum weekly debate where you can join your colleagues debate the merits of a “brand ideology” business strategy over traditional product marketing. #bizforum occurs every Wednesday night from 8 to 9 PM Eastern Standard Time.

#bizforum, branding, Corp Social Media Policy, Customer Acquisition, Customer Experience, social media

Sam Fiorella

Sam Fiorella is a Partner here at Sensei Marketing, a consulting and technology firm focused on aiding global companies grow their business value through improved customer experiences. Professionally, Sam has also co-authored: Influence Marketing: How To Create, Manage and Measure Brand Advocates and is a Professor of Marketing at Seneca College and an Adjunct Professor at Rutgers Center for Management Development. Sam is also the co-founder of YellowIsForHello, a not-for-profit corporation that seeks to decrease the rate of suicide among students through peer-to-peer connections.

Brand Ideology in the Age of Disruption

Sam Fiorella

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