Monday
Aug162010
Monday, August 16, 2010 What are ‘they’ saying about your brand?
“A brand is not what you say it is. It’s what they say it is.”
—The Brand Gap, by Marty Neumeier
I recently read The Brand Gap, along with Neumeier’s follow up, ZAG, and I particularly like this quote because it forces communications practitioners to put themselves in the shoes of their target audience. What’s being said about a brand, and why?
Knowing the answers to those questions are especially crucial in today’s social media environment, where bad news can travel the globe in seconds. But good news can have the opposite effect – it can build a following for a brand that Neumeier refers to in ZAG as a Unique Buying Tribe (or UBT).
Customers, he says, would rather buy than be sold. And when they buy, they do so in a tribal fashion. (Want proof? Consider the legions who couldn’t wait for Apple’s iPad and iPhone 4 to launch this year.) Within a UBT, he says, “news spreads quickly, which gives brands extra traction.” Social media has only exacerbated this situation.
