Brand 3.0 Audit
Brands or promises have largely been perceived as the domain of marketing departments and their advertising agencies. Up until the1990’s, we lived in a world where most firms were looking for magical communications from their marketers to change the behaviour of passive consumers. The ways of assessing the health of your brand were to check out your communications and how they were impacting consumers. It was called a Brand Audit. And it was a communications skill.
Today’s Brand Audit requires a range of skills and disciplines. Communications skills are probably the least important. Social media in particular has changed the landscape for managers in a way that is still evolving. The nature of brands has not changed (they are still promises that need to be delivered), but the ways of managing them in our transparent world has become infinitely more complex.
Brand Management 1.0 from the traditional world was characterised by old media; static, one way communications; single audiences, usually the consumer; messaging grids and design guidelines. A focus on promise making from the marketing department.
Brand management also failed to noticeably adapt with the developments in the web. Very few brands took advantage of the vast opportunities of Web 2.0. There was no Brand Management 2.0 or corresponding changes in how brands are managed. Now it is already time to move on to Brand Management 3.0, the demands of which are different:
- An understanding of your brands role in the worldwide conversation
- A dynamic, ongoing brand narrative , not a static one
- Marketing growth objectives as well as risk and reputation management guidelines
- Engagement through listening, as much as engagement through creativity and communications
- A focus on fans as well as foes; not just segmentation and audience frameworks
- An acknowledgement of the creative power of the consumer and the value of co creating solutions
- Treating employees as a social force and the irrelevance of management silos
- The need to balance brand promises in communication, with the ability for the organisation to exceed promises
- The importance of real time and speed of response
Colin Woodcock’s blog http://branduniverse.wordpress.com/ in his piece on Brand Planning in the community makes a number of the same points.
Yet it seems that many organisations are still hoping that their advertising or communications agencies will bring them a silver bullet – even if means chasing the consumer around the online world! We live in a very different world today; a world where consumers are more in charge. Where they can choose what they want, when they want, often at the price they want. Organisations need to respond to this world they cannot control. The best way we (and many other leading organisations) know, is to be clear about who you are, what you stand for and the benefits you promise to your stakeholders. Simply, making a promise and then being sure to deliver on it!
Is it time for a Brand 3.0 Audit?
Tags: Branding, Co-creation, collaboration
This entry was posted on Monday, 22 Feb 2010 at 3:52 pm and is filed under Branding, Co-creation, Conversation economy, New media.
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February 22nd, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Hi Charles!
I don’t know if it’s time for a Brand 3.0 audit… However, the time for the Brand 3.0 has already arrived
Just two thoughts:
- Any audit (3.0; 4.0…) would need smartness… The system is becoming out of company control (at least from the traditional control/observation standards)
- In addition to what you mentioned, companies would need to manage the flows (the activity they are generating) and thereafter, the dialogues betwen them and their audiences and intra-audiences… Brand experience is being a more complex
BTW… If I understood correctly, you have covered this point in your first two bullets
Cheers & tahnks for your post!… So interesting!
March 26th, 2010 at 8:51 am
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