Sensory & Emotional Branding and Consumer Loyalty Dissertation

dissertation design PDF loren coad / st20060068

disclaimer: my chapters are different sizes and are all layered. They will be put together by a ring binder pack resembling a branding pack. Here is what the editorial piece will look like layered together.

a thesis by loren coad

to what extent do sensory branding and emotional branding have an effect on millennial consumer loyalty

Declaration

To What Extent Do ‘Sensory Branding’ and ‘Emotional Branding’ Have An Effect on ‘Millennial’ Consumer Loyalty.

“I declare that this dissertation has not already been accepted in substance, or in part, for any degree and is not currently submitted in candidature for any degree. I further affirm that the substance of this work is entirely the result of my own independent research, except where otherwise stated.”

Signed ...............................................................

Name in Full: .....................................................

Name: Loren Coad - st20060068

Date: ..................................................................

Submitted for: BA (Hons) Graphic Communication, Cardiff Metropolitan University Tutor: Theo Humphries

Ethics Declaration

Word count: 10,987

All students need to be aware of the ethical implications of their research. Please sign below next to the statement which best describes your Dissertation.

Blog address: www.lorencoad.wordpress.com

1. My Dissertation contains research which needed ethical approval.

This was sought and followed as is outlined by the constellation Ethics Procedures Signature: ..........................................................

2. My Dissertation did not need ethical approval.

Signature: ..........................................................

pdp

PDP

During my three years at CSAD, for the most part, I have thoroughly enjoyed constellation. I came to university ready to throw myself into my practical work, thinking I’d left researching, ‘exams’ and writing in the past so I was rather dubious when I began the lecturers.

Reflecting back, I am grateful for them.

During the first year, I learnt about cognitive development and how creativity helps children grow. I’ve never even considered studying this subject beforehand, although I found it incredibly interesting. I went on to write my final essay on toys and whether they are designed purely for sales or if they are designed to benefit the child's cognitive development.

Following on from cognitive development, I studied visual thinking which was a little more abstract. We looked at images that had subtle clues to it’s context, for the viewer to work out for themselves.

We also studied the difference between art and design, which I particularly enjoyed as I do get the impression that graphic design isn’t taken as artistically seriously as subjects like fine art or illustration. First year constellation really opened up my mind and taught me to crave knowledge and always learn new things.

Second year, I studied Stuff: Objects and Materiality with Dr Ashley Morgan. This was one of my first choices and I was thrilled to get it. This course seemed incredibly relevant to graphic communication. I found a love of branding during the first term, and was eager to learn more about materiality and consumer society. Within this subject we delved into topics such as the notion of cool, objects symbolising our personalities, the relationships with have with objects, signs and more. This course gave me an overwhelming amount of knowledge. This course was one of the reasons behind my dissertation title.

When it came to the dissertation, I was both excited and scared. Although I’ve always loved writing but consider myself to be quite an average writer, academic writing at this magnitude has terrified me as I tend to go off course and waffle. I knew from the start that I wanted to be passionate about my topic so began to study.

During the development stage, I knew I wanted to write about branding in some way so used that as a starting point. I went to the library and picked up some books to flick through and one of them was Marc Gobé’s Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People (2009). As soon as I started to read this book I was completely transfixed, and knew I’d found my topic. Gobé’s views and teachings on not only emotional branding, but branding in general, taught me so much and has deepened my love of branding.

My love of branding had been around for years, as I actively participated in brand buying and what I consider brand loyalty, but was only amplified by the book. If you read my dissertation, you’ll notice Gobé and his views feature heavily, far more than any author. I did worry that this was not a good thing, but I must say that the book itself has inspired my title and views so much that it seems only right to feature so much. Emotional branding, although widely know, is not massively written about in the depth elsewhere other than Gobé’s book.

The book itself goes through many sub- topics and I would most definitely recommend it to any designer who is remotely interested in branding.

Carrying on with my reading to further vpush my dissertation, I came across Martin Lindstrom’s book Brand Sense: Build Powerful Brands through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, and Sound (2005), this book pushed my title in include sensory branding as it was so intriguing to me how brands appeal to the senses. Both Lindstrom and Gobé really inspired me.

I also found that with my topic, there were little ‘academic’ books that were recent. I found I had to delve into online articles to get opinions and facts that backed up what I wanted to say, and a lot of the time I managed to find quotes from brand bosses but they featured on articles. I put this down to the subject of my dissertation and the fact it is not particularly ‘academic’ and focuses on an art practice technique.

I am, however, happy with all my findings, although in hindsight I didn’t allow myself time to really talk about everything I wanted, I wanted to talk more in-depth about Gobé’s ten commandments but run out of time and words.

Constellation has pushed my skills in areas other than this subject. Studying and reading during these lectures has taught me the importance of research and reading, and I do feel like my writing style has improved. Beforehand, I used to panic and research a few days before deadline but now I’ve learnt to enjoy reading and learning new things, months before deadline in order to get a rounded view. I was incredibly lucky to study Stuff: Objects and Materiality during second year as it related to my graphic design degree. The keynote subject itself opened my eyes up to reasonings behind the stuff we buy, what it means and objects represent us. Within my degree it’s taught me to think deeper than just a design, encouraging me to have deeper meanings.

The experience of writing my dissertation as a whole has been both incredibly hard but enlightening. I do consider myself the sort of person who gets bored doing the same task for too long so did struggle to keep up with the writing, especially when I got stuck. The research element I found fun, I enjoyed learning new skills but got a little overwhelmed with how much I needed to note down and remember. I also found it near impossible to actually blog my progress as I was so focussed on actually writing, blogging didn’t seen very important to me - plus I had little time.

The element of having tutors I really liked, my tutor - Theo - was very inspiring and helpful, he always gave great advice and pushed us to think further and outside the box. I do, however, think the deadline could of been a little further away from Christmas as the date was extremely tight and gave us barely any time to meet up with our tutors and adjust work. I also would of liked the opportunity for my tutor to have read my dissertation after Christmas. It was marked before Christmas, but that was the first draft and I’d added so much since then. I’m handing in my dissertation a little unsure if I ended up going in the right direction and if it flows and sounds ok, so a tutor reading it before hand-in would of been incredibly helpful.

I was, at first, advised to placed my dissertation within InDesign to show off my graphic design skills, although with deadline looming I wasn’t too sure. Theo was ill at the time so I had a stand-in tutor, Sarah, who again advised that if Theo asked, then I should place it in InDesign.

However, I spoke to a friend on the course and she said she was advised by Sarah to follow moodles requirement and this was reiterated by a past student. I decided that I didn’t want to chance getting marked down for not following moodle protocol so decided to use pages which was incredibly tricky to place images in and overall made the ‘design’ process difficult!

Plus, as a graphic designer, it’s hard to be given two type faces to chose from when you’re not a fan of either! I would of liked the opportunity to of handed it in, placed in InDesign if I was confident that this wasn’t going to go against my mark.

Overall, I enjoyed the process but I don’t think I’ll be doing a dissertation any time soon!

con tents abstract........................................................7 foreword......................................................9 introduction...............................................10

chapter 01

1.1 the basics of branding........................13

chapter 02

2.1 emotional branding.............................15 2.2 using emotional branding to connect with millennials..........................................24 2.3 dr martens case study.........................25 2.4 spotify case study................................37

chapter 03

3.1 sensory branding.................................45 3.2 multi-sensory marketing......................48 3.3 joy case study......................................49 3.4 apple case study..................................53

chapter 04

4.1 marketing to millennials......................58 4.2 who are millennials?............................59 4.3 millennials and marketing...................62

chapter 05

5.1 anti branding - does branding work?..65 conclusion.................................................68 bibliography..............................................70 appendix...................................................76

abstract & foreword

abstract & foreword

abstract

writing

emotional & sensory branding

There are a few billion different kinds of brands in the world all currently fighting for the consumers attention, making it increasingly difficult to not only stand out and get noticed, but to acquire a strong sense of brand loyalty and longevity. Today’s society - especially the millennial generation - are so involved with social media platforms, allowing real-time communication and honest opinions, that a sense of loyalty can easily be lost in a split second, if acquired at all.

The aim of this dissertation is the explore two marketing techniques that centre around the consumers emotions and senses, known as emotional and sensory branding. This dissertation will explore and study a specific target audience: Generation Y, otherwise know as the millennials, and explore how successful campaigns are at getting this digital age interested and loyal to your brand, by using means of emotional and sensory branding, aiming to explore and study the techniques to potentially be applied rather than answer a set question.

It will also explore how brands have implemented these techniques in order to create connections and partnerships, between both consumer/brand and consumer/consumer, in efforts to spark brand loyalty.

This dissertation will also briefly explore the anti-branding movement that questions whether branding is both needed and successful when appealing to a millennial consumer, exploring whether the generation in question have the ability to be loyal or whether it is now impossible to create relationships between a brand and this complex cohort. Looking at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of ‘anti- branding’ will help get a rounded view of the argument in place and shape a clear and concise summary of how companies can improve their branding and create long-lasting relationships with their Millennial consumers.

After exploring both sides of the general views of branding, the thesis hopes to demonstrate the importance of standing out, creating strong core-values, going the extra mile for your brand and consumer – creating resilient relationships.

foreword

by the author

When considering a topic for my thesis, I was influenced heavily by both my part time job and my interest in how generation—being a millennial— is perceived both day to day and when it comes to marketing/branding.

To begin, I work in Carphone Warehouse, situated in a popular shopping centre McArthur Glen that receives a massive footfall. My store itself has one of the highest footfalls in the region, producing some of the highest numbers of sales selling a variety of phone manufacturers. Weekly, I see people trying to chose between different phones that are often the exact same specification - the only difference being the label on the phone itself. As you can imagine, I see the infamous battle of Samsung v Apple constantly, and this is what influenced me to delve into certain forms of branding techniques and the notion of brand loyalty.

In a personal sense, I consider myself ‘loyal’ to Apple, choosing their brand over any other if I am in need of a tech device. I consider my ‘relationship’ with Apple to be successful and a pleasant experience, I’ve had no issues and the seamless products make my personal and professional life easier. I am brand loyal.

When I thought about my loyalty and affection towards Apple branded products, I asked myself: can we feel love towards a brand? Is it actually possible to be loyal to something that is not actually human, or something specific, just an idea as a whole? I decided the answer - in my opinion - was definitely. When considering a specific target audience to study, I felt it obvious to study my own cohort, especially as the notion of brand loyalty intrigues me, mixed with my love of branding I felt this was a perfect topic to study.

introduction

intro duction

consumerism as we know it will change and force businesses to evolve to meet the demands of the newly empowered consumer

In today’s society, we are constantly exposed to multiple marketing techniques, with brands trying to get noticed. With the vast rise in social media over the last decade, studies show that the average consumer is exposed to roughly 10,000 brands a day, over multiple platforms, and that figure is set to keep on rising wwhilst marketers find new means to reach their customers.

(Saxon, 2017)

We are exposed to branding day in and day out, as innocently as adverts being placed onto our Facebook or Instagram feeds when we search for items to adverts now being placed into videos on Facebook, there is little way to escape it, with most of us particularly oblivious to marketing techniques used to sell to us ‘subliminally’, in order to make us think our purchases are our own ideas.

and consumer: brands get recurring customers, the word of mouth and free online marketing that may come with a successful relationship can also benefit.

On the consumer side, ‘reward’ schemes are often put in place - Tesco Clubcard and ASOS reward points when you shop with the brand are excellent examples. These brands reward consumers for being loyal, making them feel valued.

Over the last decade, branding has had to adapt enormously to the shift in the world, with smaller brands now competing successfully with larger corporations. In order to gain loyal and lasting connections with their consumers, brands have had to adapt with the main platform of communication and marketing now taking place on the internet.

Gobé (2007) describes social media as a tool or platform that allows people to have a sense of power again, putting them in the driving seat, whilst describing how “consumerism as we know it will change and force businesses to evolve to meet the demands of the newly empowered consumer”.

Whilst combining Gobé’s views with Lindstrom's (2010) opinions that branding and marketing as a whole are no longer working in today’s society, we must form a cohesive plan and take a look at how things could develop - brands want to achieve longevity and consumer loyalty but often fail at making this happen. Now more than ever, the consumers have the power.

There are two techniques that have become increasingly popular within the last twenty years or, and are known as emotional and sensory branding - techniques set to revamp branding as a whole, uplifting the term and giving it an entirely new meaning. Both are designed to humanise a brand and to help us realise that brands need to be relatable and friendly.

Consumers are now more alert when it comes to brands, their reputations and what they stand for, and it matters to them. It is imperative that a brand understands their consumers emotions and what they need (Gobé, 2007, pxviii) if they want to form loyalty.

Forming loyalties and bonds benefit both brand

forming loyalties and bonds benefit both brand and consumer

This thesis focuses on the cohort of millennials, now (roughly) aged 21-37, also known as the ‘net generation’ (Tapscott, 2009), and how popular brands use emotional and sensory techniques to appeal to them and achieve loyalty. Attracting new markets and creating current-consumer loyalty in such a busy world is not as simple as having a good product or service anymore - especially when attracting millennials - it’s all about how the brand communicates and appeals to the emotions of their consumer (Gobé, 2007, pxviii).

Graphic design has inspired this dissertation, through the interest and love of branding and how brands are built - from the basics of brand values, the way the brands look and how the visual aesthetic represents the brand, to how brands implement emotional and sensory techniques in their advertisements. Graphic design is a large element on the two techniques written about within this thesis and gives us the building blocks to creating fantastic, strong brands.

Can you appeal to a persons emotions and senses through a glass screen?

Throughout this dissertation, basic knowledge of graphic design has lead to questions such as does branding work anymore? Can you appeal to a persons emotions and senses through a glass screen? These are the questions that this body of works hopes to gain some clarity on.

This thesis is separated into 4 chapters. Chapter one is dedicated to the basics of branding and how the world is full of what is known as ‘visual-pollution’.

Chapter two delves into emotional branding, explaining the technique and how it’s implemented.

It also features case studies in order to give realworld example. Chapter three writes about sensory branding and takes a similar approach of the emotional branding chapter, featuring case studies again. Chapter four is centred around the target audience of this study: millennials.

It goes into detail on who the millennials are, how they think and how they’re perceived. It then leads on to how brands market and implement emotional branding to instil brand loyalty. Lastly, chapter five takes a brief look into anti-branding in order to get a varied and well-rounded view, and answer the question of whether branding is needed. The literature review is featured within the chapters.

01

the basics of branding overview /

an insight into the notion of branding and why it is important in today’s society.

brands are fiendishly complicated, elusive, slippery, half-real/halfvirtual things. When CEO’s try to think about brands, their brains hurt.

Jeremy Bullmore / 2001

1.1

the basics of branding

In the words of Jeremy Bullmore, brands “…are fiendishly complicated, elusive, slippery, half-real/half-virtual things. When CEOs try to think about brands, their brains hurt.” (2001) A serious shift in branding and marketing came during the time of the Industrial Revolution, a revolution that adjusted many parts of every-day-life.

At the time, goods were scarce, but people were still buying and this way of buying and selling lead to Jean-Baptiste coining the term “supply and demand”.

The Industrial Revolution reinforced the benefits and necessity for some sort of marketing and branding concept whilst selling and transporting their products further afield. There were mainly visual attributes to create identification or trademarks. This then, paired with product satisfaction, lead to customer loyalty with them returning to buy the same product, understanding that this would grow their market and demand for their products.

battle of the brands Branding in the 21st century can often feel like a “battle of the brands”, with each desperately trying to be seen and chosen. If you search New York billboard advertising” in Google, the first page will be full of websites offering up ad space (fig 1). It’s rumoured to cost roughly $1.1 million - $4 million a year if you want to buy one of these billboards, with the tall tower situated on the intersection of Broadway costing a measly $23 million a year: making it one of the most expensive group of billboards in the world. But is this the best way to connect to your consumer?

Baskin (2009) expresses his opinion that consumers “don’t interact with brands. They buy stuff and purchase real things” (2009, p15). This suggests that there is no connection between a brand and reality. Further into his work, he implies that branding is all but useless, with consumers just buying their products without making substantial, lasting relationships with the brand.

Has this been made truer than ever with the vast popularity of social media? Generation Y—the target audience in the middle of this study, also known as the Millennial’s for which this thesis shall refer to them as—have been brought up in the midst of technology, many born in the 90’s when computers started making an appearance in their homes and many can recall that all familiar ‘dial up tone’ as a sound of childhood nostalgia.

fig 1

Events such as economic uncertainty, violence, discrimination and politics have shaped the Millennial generation, which then effects the way they both use social media and how they buy (Bolton, 2013). Gobé, describes this generation with the ability to “redefine American in general and branding in particular” (Gobé, 2009, p20), making the Millennial’s incredibly powerful.

02

emotional branding overview /

looking into emotional branding and how it’s used within marketing, using real world examples to create a case study.

The paradigm of emotional branding is not a new concept, it has been around for many years with many experts writing about it. One in particular is emotional branding expert and Creative Director, Marc Gobé.

Emotional branding is essentially the art of injecting life into a brand, giving it human-like qualities and creating values that allows the consumer to connect on a personal level, creating a partnership between consumer & brand.

Gobé’s ‘Ten Commandments of Emotional Branding’ (see appendix) shows how easy it can be to practice this, allowing it to be personal to each consumer. Emotional branding is predicted to be the way forward for branding techniques (Gobé, 2009, pxxviii).

2.1 emotional branding

In an earlier edition of his book, Gobé (2009) predicted that social media would become vastly popular, that consumers would take back power for themselves and that the general democracy of the consumer world would take huge steps forward. Now, his revised edition follows on with highlighting the impact of social media within the branding world - how platforms such as social media is transforming civilisation, and how the new generations are taking businesses and making them their own, all with help from the power of the web. Gobé rightly predicted the ride of social media and the power it holds.

“a brand is brought to life for consumers first and foremost by the personality of the company behind it.”

Humanising a brand is imperative if the brand in question wants to appeal to the consumers emotion. A brand should not feel corporate or cold, it should feel relatable and lead a similar lifestyle to the consumes it reaches out to, sharing the same common interests, goals and values. Gobé explains that “a brand is brought to life for consumers first and foremost by the personality of the company behind it” (2009, pxix) continuing on to explain that a company must commit to appealing and empathising with the consumers emotions.

An example of this would be the Welsh building society, Principality. Their core values claim that they are courageous, passionate, focusing on doing the right thing, like to make things straight forward and take ownership. These core values follow Gobé’s ten Commandments well (see appendix). Principality themselves are incredibly patriotic, adopting a Welsh colour scheme and having a partnership in the Principality Stadium, using everyday people within their advertisements instead of stock images - this makes the company feel relatable, friendly and trustworthy, hitting Gobé’s sixth commandment of creating personality.

Their Head Office and Call Centre is also situated in Wales, which really humanises the brand and gives it a sense of ‘this brand starts at home’. Principality takes their service and turns it into a relationship with their consumer by showing themselves as just like everyone else.

The above logo itself features a Welsh colour scheme and a Welsh knot for the ‘P’. (Principality, n.d)

This advertisement (Mr B & Friends, 2016) for Principality focuses on family life and the consumer who uses the building society. Instead of focusing around terminology relating to money, it focuses on ‘hopes and dreams of your family’ and the future. It puts the consumer first, and the imagery is natural and relatable - it doesn’t look like a stock image, it mirrors many of the consumers homes, making the building society feel like they’re just like you.

This example of a social media posts also reflects a causal, family-orientated image with the content ‘rewarding’ the loyal consumer with the chance to win rugby tickets if they enter. This technique gives back to the consumer, thus creating a ‘like-ability factor’ and loyalty. As it’s on the internet, non-members may see and become encouraged to join due to the giving-back nature.

Gobé’s theory and view of emotional branding claims that consumers behaviour is changing, suggesting that they now “thinking more with their hearts or guts than with their heads when choosing products” (p xx) , going further and stating that the general public want to see and be convinced of a corporation’s loyalty to themselves and be truthful to their values. To put it plainly, branding and marketing are tool’s to make a corporate product or idea visually and mentally appealing, to convince the general public that their product is the best and that they possibly cannot go through their day to day lives without said product. And if we’re going

by Gobé’s observation that today’s consumers are far more head-strong and alert than before, they wont buy in to any old message. “Brand identity starts at home” (p xix) as Gobé states, and companies must live, breathe and advertise as normal, everyday humans.

brand identity starts at home

Consumers build trust and loyalty with brands they feel connected with, they then begin to get the sense that they are a partner in the company and that their business is valuable. We want to know that the company and product understand who we are on a deeper, emotional level and we want to relate to the people we’re buying off. Gobé includes in his book “The Ten Commandments of Emotional Branding” (see appendix) that highlight the differences between traditional and the new emotional sense of branding. These ‘commandments’ are a great reference when studying brands (need to write a little more here).

The fundamentals of emotional branding is to make the consumer feel something when buying into or using the product or service, “people today feel empowered” (Gobé pxxviii) and they want to feel like they have control and power. Gobé explains the consumers also like to feel like they can have an active role in changing history, just see the immense power Twitter has with subjects such as sexual assault campaigns or modern day racism, this form of social media can give consumers the platform and power they need to either make or break your product or service, in an instant.

A perfect example of the imense power of social media is the recent and infamous Pepsi advert (2017). Within days, the every day consumer was able to all-but destroy the advert and the ‘values’ it claimed to uphold.

pepsi v heineken If we compare the disastrous Pepsi advert (2017) to the successful Heineken advert (2017) we can start to see clear differences and where Pepsi went wrong. Pepsi’s advert featuring Kendall Jenner has since been pulled due to the backlash, but featured the model ‘participating’ in a movement. The advert itself lacked context and did not refer to any global issues, leading views to make up their own minds and decide that the advert itself was jumping off the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, where it was seen to be making light of that issue. The advert seems to focus more on model Jenner than is does any issue, making her the centre of attention. How can a normal, everyday consumer find an emotional likening and attachment to a wealthy model who may not suffer the same indifferences and issues that they do?

is there more that unites than divides us?

Heineken on the other hand produced a successful advert, Worlds Apart. Focusing on some of the most talked about social issues - feminism, transgenderism and LGBT rights and climate change - they made a statement that the brand itself also care deeply about these issues. There’s little in the way of product placement, unlike Pepsi, until the end where the people within the advert sit down to discuss their differences. The advert itself symbolises communication and shows Heineken as a passionate company. (fig 1 & 2) Another example of a miss-judged marketing tactic is the recent advent calendar designed by vlogger, Zoella (2016). Having a young fan base who are incredibly loyal, she produced a Christmas product with 12 items, that were relatively simple and marketed it for £50. The price was perceived as extortionate for the target audience, and the general reaction was negative. (fig 3) Gobé states that emotional branding is the “the conduit by which people connect subliminally with companies and their products in an emotionally profound way”. This means that some brands and companies do more than just make their products visually pleasing or some-what useful to the consumers life. They listen to the consumer. They step into their shoes, they empathise with their needs and lives to create a product that is more than just a simple item.

fig 1

They create an item that they cannot live without and understand their consumers needs. The emotional branding strategy itself “[…] works because we all respond emotionally to our life experiences and we naturally project emotional values onto the objects around us” (Gobé 2009).

This statement from Gobé, that we attach our emotions onto the objects we have and often use them to portray our personalities, is mirrored by psychologist Helga Dittmar’s views on the subject. In her book Consumer Culture, Identity and Wellbeing (2008), she writes that there is a misconception that the objects we buy are just that, and that our identities are not influenced by these objects. Dittmar (2008) goes on to argue that material objects “systematically influence how we perceive the identity of other people” (page number unknown).

She then describes the use of these objects as things we use as an “outer-skin”, in which we use to express ourselves ‘internally’ or for a physical way to portray our personality (2008), and if the objects we buy are so important to our existence and self-expression, then brands should also feel like an extension of our being.

fig 2 fig 3

According to millennialmarketing.com's statistic findings around Millennial consumption, almost 50% of Millennial’s would be willing to purchase a product or item if the company supports a cause. They also found that 37% of Millennial’s are happy to pay a little bit more towards the product or service in question, if their money goes to a cause they - the consumer - believes in. This backs up Gobé’s belief that Millennial’s are more compassionate and caring for the world around them than previous generations (p22). They want to do good and, therefore, they want what they buy into to do good.

2.2 millennials & brands

A study on Millennials carried out by FutureCast (2016) show that Millennials are free thinkers and they are fussy at who they give their loyalty to.

Winning the loyalty of Millennials is an important and clever asset, the more loyal ‘fans’ who will happily discuss the brand, the more ‘free’ advertising meaning the circle will grow, hopefully influencing future purchase and profit (2016, p5).

50% almost

are willing to purchase a product if the company supports a cause.

2.3 case study: dr martens

edgy but not offensive?

A great example of appealing to a consumers emotion is Dr. Martens recent campaigns.

Marketing wise, they declined in 2007 with campaigns featuring deceased punk and alt- rock musicians sat on clouds, dressed as angels wearing Docs. Executive Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi at the time, Kate Stanner, described the ads as “edgy but not offensive�. Although the amount of negativity and controversy surrounding the campaign was so strong that Dr. Martens terminated their creative relationship with Saatchi & Saatchi, and needed a revamp in order to win over their consumers again.

n efforts to improve sales and create lasting relationships with their millennial consumers, the generation who are a big part of their target audience, Dr. Martens partnered with creative agency ODD to inject some new life into the brand.

The two campaigns that stand out are First And Forever (2011) and Stand For Something (2013). Dr. Martens are known for being “bold, confident and unmistakably British”, attributes they wanted to celebrate. Dr. Marten wanted to push the brand to more than just a shoe, they wanted to celebrate the importance of self-expression and individual style, which Dr. Martens believe in strongly. Gobé (2009) writes how consumers do value projects and their palpable attributes, but the brand should not neglect the lifestyle and image - these are just as important, a story sells the product and makes it memorable. (p 71)

bold, confident and unmistakably British To do this, both Dr. Martens and the designers at ODD wanted to appeal to the consumers loyalty and hearts. They aim towards millennials as this generation is free-spirited, open- minded and enjoy exploring self-expression. They’re also a generation that seem to appreciate experiences and stories from brands, just as much as they may enjoy the object itself. Many millennials are influenced by the cultures and styles found in the 50’s/ 60’s and adopt these styles into their own to express themselves.

In the 1960’s, musician Pete Townshend turned the shoe from a everyday work-wear shoe to an essential to your wardrobe, the effect of a highprofile ‘cool’ celebrity wearing the item made a massive difference to the way people perceived the shoe and it became a cultural necessity, with groups such as punks, goths, skin heads, Brit pop fans and Indie kids adopting them into their style.

We already know from Gobé (2009) how imperative it is to actually understand your target audience and consumers, to show you understand their needs and desires and to connect with them (pxxvi) and the campaign follows the commandments that create experiences, giving the brand and shoe a personality, creating a sense of presence though social media and creating relationships not just brand/consumer but consumer/consumer also.

The First and Forever campaign centers around nostalgia, creating a community of like-minded people and celebrating individual self-expression.

They encouraged their consumers to share their stories of their first pair of Docs, putting the consumer at the heart of the campaign with CEO at the time of the campaign, David Suddens, stating that the idea came about when they “[…] realised that everyone remembers their first pair of Dr. Martens.” The message they’re sending is “it’s all about you and your experiences” and that the shoes have had a part in shaping the consumers lives and memories. The design agency, conducted research prior to the campaign and found that many of their consumers had a poignant memory that was stimulated by the boot. This simple idea created the campaign.

first & forever 2011

Visually, the campaign celebrates the style’s from over the years - style that is still popular now. This allows the consumer to relate to the advertising, either by them thinking “they dress like me” or “I used to dress like that”.

This connects the consumer to the advertising and brand on an emotional as the people in the adverts are young, working-class, every- day people that the consumer can relate to, as they are or were these people. The location within the adverts could be the consumers hometown, it’s a normal, working-class, suburban environment

A video advert they created invites the viewer to share some of their ‘firsts'. The advert itself doesn’t mention the shoe in anyway, apart from quick clips of pairs the people in the advert are wearing. This technique shows that the brand itself cares about their consumers and wants to hear about the stories and lives they’ve had whilst wearing their shoes, it gives them the feeling that they’re more important to the brand than the product itself.

Gobé (2009) states that this technique of connecting to the consumer emotionally - rather than just putting their product on a pedestal and shouting BUY ME - works as everyone responds emotionally to their life experiences, they all have happy memories we cling onto. Gobé also writes that we “naturally project emotional values onto the objects around us” (p xxix), meaning that the consumer will look back at any particularly happy memory they had whilst wearing the shoes, and projected their emotions onto it. We understand from Dittmar (2008) that we use the objects we buy as a way to express ourselves to the outer work, even when we aren’t aware we are doing so.

The above screenshots from ODD’s film advert (2011) for the campaign is incredibly simple and focus on the consumers (in the advert) experiences, whilst wearing the shoe. They encourage the viewer to join in and share their first memories of their Docs.

Tell us about what you’ve done in your Dr. Martens...

When implementing social media to create relationships and bonds, Dr. Martens used their website to encourage people to share their memories. They give them a place especially created to bond and share memories they’ve had whilst wearing the shoes, allowing them to pinpoint on maps where these special memories have happened. The campaign itself encourages people to join in a community of like-minded people, connecting them through their love of Docs and create new friendships and memories.

If indeed, memories and friendships are created, it’ll all be down to Dr. Martens and therefore the consumers will have a positive outlook and always attach the memories and experiences they had to the brand. Their use of language is perfect - “get to know all the other folks who love their docs. Tell us about what you’ve done in your Dr. Martens […]”, it creates a sense of community, and exclusive club that are only-members-allowed being fellow Doc wearers. People feel like they’re a part of the brand and a ‘exclusive’ club.

First and Forever was a successful campaign, with ODD reporting that there was a 35%* increase in buying considerations, and the social media presence rose by 50%* during the first week of the campaign. As well as these figures, Dr. Martens year-on-year sales increased by 17%, there was a 13% increase in the consumers impression of the brand’s style rose by 13% and the ‘First Heartbreak’ had a staggering 2 million global views. Dr. Marten described the campaign as “instinctively right”, and it most definitely was.

Much like the First and Forever campaign, Stand For Something appeals to a consumer emotionally and looks deeper than just the product. Dr. Marten’s aim is to show that they care about their consumer and not just their sales. The target audience, again, is very wide but Dr. Martens understanding that many of their target audience care about the world and keep up with current affairs. Dr. Martens are known to be a brand that believes in individuality, standing out and going against the ‘norm’. This case study, however, will focus on how they used their marketing strategies to reach Millennials.

stand for something 2011

The boots themselves were born in the 1960’s, during a time of change and cultural growth leading into a social revolution. Many of the Millennials will have grown up with the boot - like they did the internet - and will consider them part of their childhood or adolescence, being involved in anti-government protests and youth culture during the 1990’s, as well as being influenced by both the style and social issues that happened in the 1960’s.

When your target audience are mainly millennials—who often use this boot as a tool of self-expression—it is imperative that you share the same values of standing up for issues and those less fortunate, to help push to world to a more understanding and peacefulplace. Millennials care about the world and social issues, they also care greatly about what they buy. We learn from Norty Cohen - head of branding agency Moosylvania that this specific generation care and love brands that allow them to represent who they are.

From Lindstrom (2010) we learn that a large portion of urban teens in the United States said that they wanted to believe in something, so involving them in a movement such as this and encouraging them to learn and share what values they believe in really appeals to their needs.

Whereas the #FirstandForever campaign celebrate the longevity of the boot, #StandforSomething appeals to a millennials hearts and desires to fight for good. From Gobé (2009) we learn that this generation really care about the world around them. The show a keen interest and clear conscious about global issues, including environmental issues, poverty, war and issues such as race, gender, equality, sexual orientation and sexual assault, and many more.

Much like the #FirstandForever campign, Dr. Marten wanted to celebrate the consumers who use the brand as a tool of self-expression and individuality, ticking Gobé’s sixth commandment (appendix) of injecting “chwaracter and charisma” (2009, pxxxii) in order to create a strong, lasting identity as well as turning the standard buy-and-sell service routine into a relationship that gives back on both sides.

For the campaign they released another short advert with a range of people, all with different ages, ethnicities and styles who all wear Docs and stand for something.

Not only does this message reach out to the Millennials, who seek change, but also the baby boomer generation, who were around for big historical events such as peace marches and protests.

In other efforts to connect with Millennials, in 2015 Dr. Martens - a well known and popular shoe brand for festivals - gave their consumers gift vouchers towards gig tickets. This ‘giving back’ effort really resonates with Millennials and wins some popularity points.

Spotify’s recent campaigns during the last 2 years are perfect examples of emotional branding and connecting with their younger audience. Keeping up with technology and platforms is crucial when staying relevant to millennial’s. They’re constantly evolving and being subjected to new brands and platforms daily. The most impressive campaigns Spotify have produced of late are two campaigns labelled: “Thanks 2016, it’s been weird” and “Your 2017 wrapped”.

To celebrate the end of 2016, Spotify created their campaign named “Thanks 2016, it’s been weird”.

At the heart of it’s campaign were their listeners.

Instead of solely focusing on a celebrity, as many brands do these days, Spotify gathered their data in an emotional and entertaining way to see out the new year. Spotify understand that the millennials are at the heart of their core-listeners, noting that the cohort are “listening more frequently and streaming in more places than nonmillennials” (2) and stating Millennials are also “connected all day from the moment they wake up”.

Statistics found by AdWeek show that 72% of Spotify listeners are millennial’s, who listen more frequently and in the widest variety of places, suggesting that Spotify is an integrated part of millennial’s daily life. Why is Spotify so popular with Millennial’s? It may possibly be how accessible and portable it is, we know millennial’s are always on the go, so this portable steaming service available on most of their devices is perfect.

72% of Spotify listeners are Millennials.

So, instead of releasing impersonal and bland numbers and graphs, Spotify collected their data of what was popular throughout the year and created an amazing campaign centered solely around the listeners, in a personal way.

Spotify used current world affairs in their campaigns and chose specific locations for certain posters, like above. Brexit was, and still is, one of the most talked about on-going political and social issue’s that Britain is currently experiencing, and through a time of nerve-racking uncertainty and lack of faith in the government, Spotify injected some colour and humour into what seemed like a rather bleak world.

Spotify produced a sense of unity within the listeners who either did listen to this or felt worried about the impending vote, but at the same time injects some tongue-in-cheek humour. This manages to humanise the brand in the sense that they understand and also care about the on-going political issues.

This campaign that is a perfect example of emotional branding being implemented. Instead of focusing on the popular celebrities/albums of the year, Spotify put the listeners and the consumers at the heart of their campaign, creating a sense of giving back and appreciation. Gobé (2009) writes how important it is to listen to your consumer in order to create a deeper connection and how imperative it is to enable your consumer to have great personal experiences with both you and your product (p xxviii), or in this case, service.

Gobé goes on to write how connecting to a consumer emotionally makes all the difference and enables people to connect subliminally, which works as we—as humans—respond emotionally to experiences and we tend to connect with and focus our emotions onto objects around us (p xxix).

Spotify have done this by listening to what their consumers enjoy and how they feel, and give back with a little humour.

Thanks 2016, it’s been weird”.

The target audience for this campaign generally seems to aim towards any listener of Spotify, but statistics show it resonates more with under-35s - fitting into the millennial cohort and data found

by YouGov states that the campaign overall was extremely successful, with word of mouth from viewers increasing it’s exposure. YouGov also state that they found the largest reason for this campaigns success is down to the target audience, a generation that love to share via social media.

example of a campaign billboard

20 18

goals

Moving on from 2016 and celebrating 2017, Spotify used the same principle of using their creative way to show their data, but this time by looking to the future with their “2018 Goals”.

Their use of the word ‘goals’ is very fitting, due to the popularity of this term over the last year or so. The hashtags have appeared all over a variety of platforms with phrases such as #couplegoals #relationshipgoals #foodgoals and so on. The language itself is very contemporary and mirrors the language that a Millennial tends to use on their social media platforms, again connecting the Spotify brand to their consumers and making the brand seem more ‘human’, as if it is run by likeminded people.

When comparing these two campaigns with the techniques used in emotional and sensory branding, we see a few adopted by Spotify.

Spotify appeal to the consumers emotions by befriending them and altering themselves to be like the consumer. They adopt the same language their target audience use and show the listener/ consumer that their habits are understood and appreciated.

When we compare Spotify’s recent techniques at staying relevant and one of the most popular streaming services with Millennials with views from Fromm & Garton (2013) and Gobé (2009) we see that Spotify are making an enormous and conscious effort to put the consumer/listener at the heart of both their campaigns and their services.

your 2017 wrapped

As well as these two main campaigns, Spotify also released a personalised “Your 2017 wrapped” list to every listener, compiling their most listened too artists, playlists, etc. It was somewhat a ‘thank you’ to the listeners, a ‘thanks for sticking with us’. It was a special and personal way for Spotify to give back.

innovative collaborative sincere passionate playful

In other efforts of using user data, Spotify also released a video ad “Play This at My Funeral”. The video itself is inspired by user playlist labelled ‘play this at my funeral’ and includes some questionable song choices, like Body Moves by DNCE. Spotify used this data to create a humorous, tongue-in-cheek video staring the band itself, with an hilarious what-could-be style scene. It symbolises that Spotify are alert to their listeners, are keen to listen and stay involved in what their listers do and like, and show that as a brand Spotify is fun, playful and ‘one of us’.

This further confirms that Spotify are authentic, if we look at what they deem their ‘core-values’ from 2016, they list them as: innovative, collaborative, sincere, passionate and playful and their campaign techniques definitely back up their values.

03

emotional branding overview /

looking into emotional branding and how it’s used within marketing, using real world examples to create a case study.

Sensory branding has a similar approach to marketing that emotional branding does. It goes above and beyond the usual, impersonal techniques we often see. This means the advertisements that are thrown out there with no care or consideration, simply to sell with no intention to connect emotionally with the consumer. Sensory branding can be seen as a supporting technique to emotional branding, through appealing to the senses you can then instil a long-lasting connection with the consumer.

sensory branding

Scientifically, the senses are a major part of the human being’s body and we all rely on our senses far more than we all realise, taking most - or all completely for granted, with many theorists stating that a clear focus on the consumer is the most successful way to creating brand success (Kotler, Keller, Brady, Goodman, Hansen, 2006)

The main senses that are catered to within everyday advertising are sight and hearing backed up by Lindstrom further up, which was fine when television and radio were the main ways people advertised. Now, in today’s society it’s harder to get and keep your consumers attention, especially a millennial. Studies carried out tells us that the average consumer is subjected to up to 10,000 brand messages a day (AMA, 2017). But with platforms growing and channels multiplying, the number of messages being projected to a consumer is increasing.

why is there not more emphasis on the other senses?

touch sight hearing smell taste

3.1

In todays marketing world, many advertising techniques and attempts just don’t seem to resonate in a persons mind (Kotler, 2010, pi), “they have to be powered up to deliver a full sensory and emotional experience”. Linsdstrom (2010) describes the attempt of reaching consumers as a “frenetic, overstimulating, ADHD-like world”, where social media just amplifies the fact that both the consumer and the world in general is changing rapidly and constantly, meaning that the marketing techniques brands use must develop at the same speed.

The human body has five basic senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste - all helping us, quite literally, make sense of the world around us.

In the world of advertising and marketing, expert Lindstrom (2008) states in his book Brand Sense, that 83 per cent of all branding only appeals to the eyes, he also states that consumers are more likely to be loyal if the company marketing a product/ service does so in a multi-sensory way. So why is there not more emphasis on the other senses?

8 seconds the human attention span is now all of

British media agency OMD carried out a yearlong research project that looked to figure out what the future of a British consumer society may look like, by studying 200 people on how they use their devices: how much they use them and for how long. From the study, they found that during an hour on an average evening, they switched between various devices 21 times - whether it was their phones, tablets or laptops - and 95 per cent had their televisions on for the whole hour, as background noise.

When you then consider Microsoft’s findings from their own study that the human attention span is now all of 8 seconds findings (TIME article, 2015), we begin to understand the difficulty of standing out long-term in such a digitalised world. Does this then mean appealing to just sight and sound doesn’t quite cut it?

Interbrand article (Dwyer, n.d) states that new research, in the form of fMRI neuro-imagery shows that our emotions have a far larger part in the decision making process when it comes to brands, services and products than we first thought, meaning that the emotions and senses are no longer pick-and-chose or optional, but now a necessity if a brand is aiming for longevity and loyalty.

Dwyer (n.d) brings to light a creative example by British Airwaves. BA chef, Mark Tazzioli, claims that their research has found the ability to taste in the air is reduced by 30 per cent, meaning they need to combat this in order to improve the quality of taste of their food.

Leading on from this, experimental psychologist Charles Spence claims that you are able to trick your taste buds, simply with music - by finding the right style that appeals to the human brain.

Whether this is completely true, who knows. British Airways have now adapted a special playlist, in order to make your food taste better.

3.2 multi-sensory branding

80% of all the impressions we form when communicating with other people are non-verbal

Multi-sensory marketing focuses on pushing customer experiences further than before. Smell and taste are two senses often taken for granted, but be that as it may both senses are incredibly powerful. They are linked to the limbic system in our brains, the area that is responsible for both memories and emotions - therefore making the senses highly valuable when attempting to create consumer experiences and attain their loyalty. Lindstrom (2008) writes that behavioural experts estimate that up to “80 per cent of all the impressions we form when communicating with other people are non-verbal� or, in simpler terms, sensory.

In everyday situations, there are many examples of multi-sensory branding. For example, all you have to do is walk into your local Starbucks and you’re inundated: the smell of the coffee hits you, the sound of the coffee machines is unmissable, the sight of the coffee beans and even the slight taste of coffee on the tip of your tongue.

Sensory branding can be a difficult strategy to apply, meaning that it’s not often taken advantage of. When wondering how to visually portray sensory branding, a scene from the 2015 film Joy stands out.

3.3 case study: joy

During Christmas, the character Joy, is walking down the street where she is stopped in her tracks by the multi-sensory experience outside a toy shop.

On the shop front there is a small speaker box and from it is a gentleman talking about family homes at Christmas time, whilst Christmas music chimes in the background.

As he talks, inside the shop window is a Christmas scene with a steam-train driving on a track, the sound of the train and the occasional blows of the horn can be heard behind the mans voice.

Joy walks to the front of the window to get a better look and as the man asks Santa for snow, a machine above Joy lets off fake snow all around her. Joy is transfixed, as it swirls all around her, with the nostalgic Christmas music and train in the background. The snow continues to fall, she looks into the shop to see a family shopping. They’re happy and laughing. It’s as if Joy is in a magical experience.

Not only does this idea of the shop visually grab the public, with the store front, visual merchandising in the window and the lights. It also grabs attention with the sound coming out of the speaker. It’ll stop them in front of the window as they may wonder where the sound is coming from and why.

The sound mixed with the visual of the Christmas scene will instil a sense of spirit, nostalgia, and hopefully happiness. The snow falling appeals to the sight and touch sense’s, for a moment transporting the potential consumer to a different world that they are in thanks to these sensory experiences. All of these mixed with seeing the happy family inside the store front will urge you to go inside and get a little bit of that happy feeling.

The consumer will walk away remembering the multi-sensory experience they had outside the shop front as it’s not everyday shop front advertising caters to senses other than simply sight.

(Joy, 2015) This example shows how simple it can be to potentially create a lasting memory in a consumers mind, following Gobé’s second commandment (2009, pxxx) of turning a product/products into an experience that goes above and beyond expectations, adding value and excitement to a simple visit.

3.4 case study: apple

It would be both foolish to write a thesis about marketing techniques and the millennial generation without mentioning one of the most well-known brands: Apple. In a world where there are so many different options when it comes to technology, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd and win loyalty, but Apple does this well. Apple is now known worldwide as a ‘cult brand’ with an extremely and fiercely loyal ‘cult following’.

When discussing the topic of multi-sensory branding and how brands do this to secure brand loyalty with millennials, Apple is a perfect example.

Their stores are full of multi- sensory experiences, and those experiences continue once the consumer has left and use products. As well as being labelled a ‘cult brand’, Apple is also considered to be a luxury brand, but this hasn’t always been the case.

In his book, professor of marketing Scott Galloway (2017) writes how it was initially favoured by ‘geeks’ and the slick packaging and overall look that Steve Job’s was concerned about did little for it’s popularity (p68). Galloway (2017) likens the brand and Job’s in particular to Willy Wonka, due to Apple’s tendency to announce a new and exciting product each year on stage (p64).

For a generation that is so fast-paced and fickle, this turn around is perfect to keep millennials engaged and excited, creating a constant sense of presence. Apple concentrate on both quantity and quality, ensuring their users always want more (commandment 8, see appendix.)

In efforts to get popularity and sales up, Apple revamped their products and opted to drop the word “computer”, considering it old and “in the past” (Galloway, 2017, p70). Not only did this propel Apple into ‘the future’ but it also gave it a sense of exclusivity. If you use or own a MacBook Pro, you’re using a MacBook Pro, not a computer.

The notion of stepping away from this word takes you out of that box and sets you in an entirely new and exclusive category.

63.2% 75.5% of American 18-24 year olds were iOS users

of 25-44 year olds were also iOS users

The success of the Apple brand can mainly be given to the fact that it creates a sense of community between its consumers.

Although Apple sells millions of it’s products and is generally very successful when it comes to sales and numbers, its estimated that 1% of the world can actually afford an Apple product (Galloway, 2017, p71), allowing it to be perceived as a luxury brand, or a brand that has its own ‘exclusive’ club.

In 2016, figures found by Fluent showed that 63.2% of American 18-24 year olds were iOS users and 75.5% of 25-44 year olds were also iOS users. That’s a lot of Millennials using iOS over android. The range of products Apple produce vary from phones, tablets, wireless headphones, laptops/desktops and now even the smart Apple watch, meaning the brand itself cares about injecting technology in a smooth fashion into their consumers lives in a way that the users don’t realise how big a part they have until they lose it.

For their most recent campaign (2017), they focus on the iPhone camera that is celebrated worldwide, heavily using the social media platform Instagram, where roughly 59% of Instagram users are 18-29 and 33% are 30-49, according to Pew Research Centre. The campaign itself is in it’s third year of running and has been very successful.

Using the hashtag #ShotonIphone, they give a platform for iPhone photographers - amateur or professional - to share their photography and celebrate the camera. Apple then feature some chosen shots on their Instagram (that has an impressive 3.3 million followers). Away from Instagram, Apple has collected images taken by everyday normal users and posted them on billboards around the world, as a homage to their consumers.

These range of photos symbolise how easily Apple products slip into your life and how accessible and useful they are day-to-day, as well as capturing your most treasured memories. The product has a constant presence in the users life that makes daily activities, capturing memories and keeping connected with others seamless and simple.

#shotoniphone

#shotoniphone

Extending the style and context of #ShotonIphone to discuss some world social issues, Apple created an advert in reaction to President Trump’s choice to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord. Waiting until they had a big enough audience, Apple launched it’s “Earth” advert, featuring stills and videos from all over the world whilst Carl Sagan reads a passage from his book ‘Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space’ (1994). In all, it’s both a celebration of the Earth and a warning that we must not take it for granted and neglect it’s health.

In essence of the leaving of the Paris climate accord, it was reported by Bloomberg that CEO Tim Cook contacted the President, urging him to stay in the agreement.

When we remind ourselves of Gobé’s analyse of the Millennials taking a strong interest in world issues, including environmental and political issues (2009, p22) this call to action and campaign video will further connect Millennials to the brand as they can see Apple share the same concerns and values, using their massive platform as a dialogue for others, which commandment nine (see appendix) states this connects consumer to the brand, implying the relationship is reciprocated.

04

emotional branding overview /

looking into emotional branding and how it’s used within marketing, using real world examples to create a case study.

3.4 marketing to millennials

This thesis focuses on Generation Y, otherwise known as - and referred to throughout - as the Millennial’s.

The interest around this particular age group circulates around the growing popularity of social media and the internet in general over the last decade and it’s effect on marketing techniques.

It is interesting to see the way brands are now shifting in order to connect with today’s youth and how they are trying to instil a sense of brand loyalty through social media, which can often cause a barrier between people. It is also intriguing to decipher and pick apart marketing techniques that have used both elements from emotional and sensory branding, and whether this works in order to appeal to the fickle generation in question.

To begin, the age range of a Millennial isn’t exactly clear - a variety of different dates pop up depending on the source making it hard to pin down solid dates. Nevertheless, for the sake of this thesis we shall use the start date stated in Marc Gobé’s Emotional Branding: 1981 and the end date of 2000, which is used widely to symbolise the end of this cohort.

The Millennial’s are a large group that grew up with technology and therefore are empowered by it, they don’t shy away from it. They’ve jumped onto the social media wagon and have completely taken it by storm. Gobé (2009) describes this generation as a ‘tidal wave’, a force so powerful they have the ability to redefine America, branding specifically (p20).

4.2 who are millennials?

The Millennial’s grew up watching the evolution of Barbie – from a ditzy character that cared about nothing other than looks, to a educated and empowered female, the Girl Power movement that again highlighted female empowerment (thanks to the Spice Girls) and grew up exploring the internet and developing their skills far earlier than many before them. The Millennial’s have grown up into a tough time, where the future of subjects such as political issues or the economy isn’t exactly clear and Gobé rightly states that due to this, Millennials are more sensitive to global issues in the form of poverty, war, the environment, race, gender, sexual orientation, discrimination and so forth (p22), making them more eager to help change the world for a better place.

A simple Google search will quickly decipher the general views of Millennials - note that not one of those suggested searches are positive in any way. Millennials are seen as lazy, entitled and about to ruin the world they’ve been ‘handed’.

This generation is viewed by many as a cohort of people who just do not care about anything, especially what they buy into. But as Gobé has already highlighted, Millennials do care about the world and their behaviour is often driven by their

values, as well as having integrity and respect for authority (p23). When it comes to a consumer buying perspective, Norty Cohen - who works for brand agency Moosylvania, who regularly conducts studies on Millennial buying and loyalty habits - understands that this generation does care, stating “they definitely care about brands, they only care about certain kinds of brands, though: Brands that help them represent who they are”, further showing that Millennials give a lot of thought and consideration into what they buy in to, and this thought process can lead to a very loyal relationship if the product and service is a right match.

they only care about certain kinds of brands, though: brands that help them represent who they are

In 2016, there was an estimated total of 11,231,312 (1) Millennials in the United Kingdom, accounting for 21 percent of the population. In the US, Millennials make up 21% of “consumer discretionary purchases, which is estimated over a trillion dollars in direct buying power and a huge influence on older generations” states online experts www.millennialmarketing.com.

Millennial’s have a huge power over both the future and the way brands do in the marketing world, they’re clued on and cannot be fooled.

Gobé describes them as a generation that have “been raised and told it could do whatever it wanted” which has lead them to put all their focus into fixing the world and all the issues within it. Gobé compares this young generation to the Baby Boomers by writing “Boomer parents fought to topple society, today’s youth would rather improve it”.

Fromm and Garton (2013) conducted thorough research on Millennials and found that this generation is not happy with being “passive consumers” any more, stating they want to “actively participate, concrete” and be seen

as a partner in the brands they buy into and support (p 19). These findings back up Gobé’s statements that companies should not talk down to nor underestimate this cohort (p 23), including them within the process creates closer relationships. As we already know: this generation has a strong interest in changing the way the world as we know it.

Following on from the Google search above, we know that Millennials are a generation who are completely misunderstood. Tapscott informs us that the millennials are often labelled the “Me Generation” and common misconception is that they only care about themselves, and popular culture (p 245) (celebrities, gossip, social media etc). They’re seen as not caring about their local communities and wider political issues, which is now - more than ever - completely incorrect.

If we look at the 2017 UK Election, the younger ages of the Millennials shocked everyone, with research from Ipsos (2017) estimating that just over half of the Millennials of the UK ages 18-34 actually voting, showing they do care about what happens which is exactly what Gobé stated and predicted in

21% millennials make up

of consumer discretionary purchases

fast-paced moving lifestyle and quickly evolving taste

4.3 millennials & marketing

Marketing to millennials isn’t exactly easy. You can no longer create a simple simple story expect them to buy it. Social media has allowed the youth of today to rip apart products, services and marketing attempts on a platform that allows others from around the world to view it instantly, giving them immense power in choice.

As it is with many generations, it can be a struggle to create a sense of loyalty between a brand an a millennial consumer, thanks to their “fast-paced moving lifestyle and quickly evolving taste” as Gobé writes, only heightened more with social media’s ability to show them new things everyday and of course mixed with our new ‘8 second attention span’ (Microsoft, 2015). From this perspective, many people therefore believe that millennial’s lack the ability to be loyal to a brand, that they’re too fickle.

However, studies show that 60% of millennial’s consider themselves either often or always loyal to a brand that they currently purchase from and 75% say that it’s fairly important that the company they’re buying from gives back to society in some way, instead of just making profit (Millennial Branding, 2015)

Although Millennial’s don’t give their loyalty away easily. If a brand wants to create a relationship with a Millennial, they must put their feet in their shoes, practice empathy and understand the consumers values and put this above anything else. Millennals are “inherently aligned with technology”, states a report by The Hartman Group, featured in Serazio’s 2010 article1, about Marketing to Millennial’s, going further to say “intimacy with the digital world is one of the greatest strengths of their generation”.

intimacy with the digital world is one of the greatest strengths of their generation

Both the writers at The Hartman Group (2010) studying Millennial Marketing and Don Tapscott, author of Grown Up Digital, describe the millennial’s as “digital natives” and “the Net Generation” (Tapscott, 2009) and also write how Millennials now experience the world completely differently to older generations.

Millennial’s consider social media a part of daily life and understand the importance and power it has, and in order to reach and connect with them, brands must harness the power of social media and use it effectively. Tapscott (2009) that they were incredibly different too their baby boomer parents, with many thanks to the internet being a big part of their upbringing. He conducted a survey, studying the different characteristics and differences between the generations, referring to these differences as “norms”.

He found that the 8 norms for the net generations were: freedom, customisations, scrutiny, integrity, collaboration, entertainment, speed and innovation (p 74). They’ve grown up around these social ‘norms’ and now expect to have these in their day to day lives. To explain what Tapscott found and what it means, lets look at a few examples.

{

freedom the flexibility of the internet, wherever you want and whenever you need it, has allowed this generation to expect things now not later. If they need something, they can get it in seconds, so if a brand is slow, behind and stunt their freedom, Millennials will not rate it, let alone be loyal.

customisations

{ {

again, the internet is so flexible with what it offers, the millennials are used to having things how they like it. This generation grew up with MySpace, Bebo and others, that allowed them to make that corner of the internet their own. We can even personalise our phones/tablets, by selecting our own wallpapers. This enables us to portray who we are, and what we love visually, giving these items a sense of our personality, huminising them.

integrity we already know from Gobé (2009) that this generation has values and really care world issues, and thanks to the internet they are clued in more than ever, being able to read anything they need to in order to get their facts. They have strong beliefs and will stand up for what they believe in.

Tapscott’s set of norms give us an insight into the basic interests Millennials truly care about, not only when it comes to the internet but in general - and brands must understand and respect these norms, and adopt them into both their own values and their marketing techniques. His set of norms work well alongside Gobé’s commandments, giving an insight into both sides and seeing how they can interlink and therefore how a brand can connect with them on a deeper level.

Like both Kotler (2010) and Baskin (2008) repeatedly reiterate: branding isn’t working, and in order to creating successful branding emotions, connections, values and the consumer must all be at the heart of any successful brand.

05

antibranding overview /

does branding work anymore?

5.1 anti-branding

There have been many views on the ‘anti-branding movement’ - beginning with Naomi Klein’s No Logo from 1999. It’s arguable that although Klein has many valid points, today’s society - nineteen years later - is incredibly different. Elements like the economy, political views and the bold, out-spoken and alert generation that is the Millennials have changed the way consumers see the world. People are now more perceptive and want an active role within the products they buy and the companies they buy into.

Klein (1999) does, however, state that her book is not about literal logos and visuals, but rather an insight into the anti-corporate behaviours she’d witnessed from young activists. She claims that brands are no longer their products, as such, but the images and the lifestyles they sell to the consumer, quoting Walter Landor, who was president of a branding agency Landor, who says “products are made in the factory, but brands are made in the mind”.

does branding work anymore?

When discussing the effect of marketing and branding, it’s also important to look at the other side of the fence. There’s been many arguments over the years whether branding is needed in today’s society, or whether it’s damaging and unnecessary.

In more recent years, a popular anti-branding book Branding Only Works on Cattle by Jonathan Baskin has stood out in this category. Baskin discusses branding being waste of time, arguing that it is merely used to manipulate and control a consumer and what they buy (2009, p14). He asks whether we can maintain a relationship with brand and whether brands actually matter to us (2009, p14). He also claims that consumers don’t interact with brands, stating they just buy the products and go, apposed to creating a sense of bond (2009, p15).

Baskin (2009) opposes many of Gobé (2009) and Lindstrom’s (2008) views that consumers connect with brands when appealing to emotions when he says that consumers are far too busy, too impatient and have far too many other brands that they can chose from (2009, p18), meaning that they’re very unlikely to connect with a brand. Gobé, does actually mention the failures brands and marketing professionals made over the last decade or so,

writing how greed, hype and money drove them - with a massive lack of emotional branding - thus losing any sense of honesty and candour, losing any trust they had from consumers (2009, p223).

Gobé also mentions the out door advertising people endured, which lead to consumers ‘rebelling’, labelling it ‘visual pollution’. If you group together all of the billboards that cover the space within the United States of America, they would span 60,000 football fields (Gobé, G. 2011) This number is astronomical, as This Space Available (2011) highlights.

Within this documentary - directed by Gobé’s daughter Gwenaëlle - is a quote from Marcelo Dantas, Multimedia and Exhibition Designer, observing how advertising “…is a relationship between a company that wants to sell and consumers who are not aware of this attempt” (2011) suggesting than consumers give “their eyes for free”. Brand expert Jonathan Salem Baskin writes in his book Branding Only Works on Cattle

branding is based on an outdated and invalid desire to manipulate and control consumers’ unconscious (2009) “branding is based on an outdated and invalid desire to manipulate and control consumers’ unconscious” (2009, p14) suggesting that this form of un-emotional, shove-it-in-your-face advertising does nothing but create a short term interest, that will quickly fizzle out.

Brands in today’s society now make it their mission to know their consumers and connect with them. Marketing communication network DDB Worldwide’s chairman, Keith Reinhard, who’s been active in the advertising world for decades - believes that the world of branding is just getting started, and that now more than ever, brands understand who they want to connect with (Reinhard, 2015). One may argue that if material objects are a “outer skins” that we use to symbolise and represent us, and also perceive others (Dittmar, 2008) how would we identify ourselves if brands and logos did not exist?

Understandably, branding and advertising has come a long way and the injection of emotional branding into it’s efforts makes an enormous difference. We’re seeing the newly empowered and strong- willed consumer playing an even bigger part within the advertising industry, and this suggests a brand new way of doing things with a fresh outlook (Gobé, 2009). The anti- branding stance can be seen as mere personal opinion and whereas this thesis does indeed support the notion of branding, it also appreciates and finds opposing views both education and interesting.

bibliography & appendix

bibliography & appendix

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Stand for Something campaign video screenshots, 2013, [advert], ODD London, [online] Available at: <https:// vimeo.com/111547441> [Accessed 22 January 2018].

Spotifys ‘Thanks 2016, it’s been weird’ campaign images, 2016 [online image] Available at: <http://www. adweek.com/creativity/spotify-crunches-user-data-fun-ways-new-global- outdoor-ad-campaign-174826/> [Accessed 22 January 2018].

Spotify ‘Thanks 2016, It’s Been Weird’ campaign images, 2016 [online image] Available at: <http://creativityonline.com/work/spotify-thanks-2016/50063> [Accessed 22 January 2018].

Spotify’s ‘2018 Goals’ campaign posters , 2017 [online image] Available at: <http:// www.jackagency.co.uk/ blog/spotify-2018-goals/> [Accessed 22 January 2018].

Spotify’s ‘2018 Goals’ campaign billboard images, 2017 [online image] Available at:

<http://www.adweek.com/creativity/how-spotify-makes-its-data-driven-outdoor-ads-and- why-they-workso-well/> [Accessed 22 January 2018].

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Spotify’s ‘My 2017 Wrapped’ examples, 2017 [online image] Available at: <http:// metro.co.uk/2017/12/06/ get-spotify-wrapped-2017-see-music-stats-year-7136722/> [Accessed 22 January 2018].

Pepsi advert with Kendall Jenner, stills taken from advert, 2017. [online image] Available at: <http://www. independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/pepsi-advert-pulled- kendall-jenner-protest-videocancelled-removed-a7668986.html> [Accessed 22 January 2018]

Wieden & Kennedy, 2017, Spotify ‘Play This At My Funeral’, [advert] Available at: <https://www.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/34541496/play-this-at-my-funeral/ spotify> [Accessed 22 January 2018].

Joy, 2015 [DVD] David O. Russell. USA. Apple Store image, Brussels, 2016, Business Insider [online image] Available at: < http:// uk.businessinsider. com/apple-stores-get-biggest-makeover-in-15-years-2016-5/#the- wooden-tables-apples-using-weredesigned-by-jony-ive-and-include-motion-sensors-that- conceal-power-outlets-each-table-has-a-singlecord-connecting-it-to-power-8> [Accessed 22 January 2018] Apple’s Instagram post for #ShotonIphone campaign - featuring image by @blebovitz, 2018 [online image] Available at: <https://www.instagram.com/p/BeDviwSjmFz/?taken- by=apple> [Accessed 22 January 2018] Billboard images from Apple’s #ShotonIphone campaign. 2017. AdWeek. [online images] Available at: <http:// www.adweek.com/creativity/apple-celebrates-summer-with-joyful- worldwide-shot-on-iphone-out-of-homecampaign/> [Accessed 22 January 2018] YouGov’s data graph depicting Under 35s talking about Spotify in 2016, 2016 [online image] Available at: <https://yougov.co.uk/news/2017/01/11/spotifys-thanks-2016- campaign-cues-it-prosperous-n/> [Accessed 22 January 2018] Zoella and her overpriced Christmas advent calendar, 2016. [online image] Available at: <https://thedebrief.co.uk/news/opinion/zoella-advent-calendar-review/> [Accessed 22 January 2018].

New York billboard advertising image, (2015) [online image] Available at: <https:// www.gettyimages. co.uk/detail/news-photo/giant-digital-screens-and-advertising- billboards-light-up-newsphoto/480278104#giant-digital-screens-and-advertising- billboards-light-up-times-in-pictureid480278104> [Accessed 22 January 2018].

appendix

note: this is an extract from Marc Gobé’s Emotional Branding, where he discusses ten crucial points to emotional branding and is mentioned within my body text and referred to here.

The Ten Commandments of Emotional Branding

by Marc Gobé, Emotional Branding (2009)

reference: Gobé, M., 2009. Emotional Branding. The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People. 2nd ed. New York, Allworth Press.

1. FROM CONSUMERS > TO PEOPLE. Consumers buy, people live. In communication circles the consumer is often approached as the ‘enemy’ when we must attack. It’s us (meaning manufacturers, retailers and their communication agencies) against them. Terminology like “breaking down defences, decoding their language and strategising to win the battle” is my day-to- day experience, still commonly used. But why employ this tactic when there is a better way to create desire in customers in a positive manner, without harassing or talking down to them? This can be achieved by using a win-win partnership approach based on a relationship of mutual respect. After all, the consumer is your best source of information.

2. FROM PRODUCT > TO EXPERIENCE. Products fulfil needs, experiences fulfil desires. Buying just for need is driven by price and convenience. A product of shopping experience, such as REI stores’ rock climbing walls or Apple’s inspiring store environments, has added value and will remain in the consumers’ emotional memory as a connection made on a level far beyond need. For established products to attract and retain consumer interest, it is critical that innovative retailing, advertising and new product launches capture imagination. The lines are drawn every day between newness and tradition, between what is expected and the excitement of change. Our curiosity and sense of adventure often wins out over the known.

However, a product can be old and new at the same time if it continues to have emotional relevance for consumers.

3. FROM HONESTY > TO TRUST. Honest is expected. Trust is engaging and intimate. It needs to be earned. Honesty is required for business today. The federal authorieis, consumer groups and people in general have an increasingly rigorous standard for products as they impact the environment or our quality of life. Brands will be rated vert quickly on what needs to be on the shelf and what doesn’t. Trust is something else altogether. It is one of the most important values of a brand and it requires real effort from corporations. One of the most powerful moves toward building consumer trust was retailers’ implementation of the “no questions asked” return policy some years ago. This strategy brings total comfort to customers and gives them the upper hand in their choices. A very smart decision, indeed.

4. FROM QUALITY > TO PREFERENCE. Quality for the right price is a given today. Preference creates the sale. Quality is a necessary offering if you want to stay in business; it is expected and had better be delivered. Preference toward a brand is the real connection to success. Levi’s is a quality brand, but it has currently lost its preferential status.

Victoria’s Secret, a brand that has achieved an enviable and highly charged emotional connection with consumers today, is revolutionising a new category and redefining the hosiery and beauty businesses.

There is no stopping a brand when it’s preferred.

5. FROM NOTORIETY > TO ASPIRATION Being known does not mean you are also loved. Notoriety is what gets you known. But if you want to be loved, you must convey something that is in keeping with the customers’ aspirations. Awareness is obviously not the only criterion to successful branding. Beyond awareness, what does AT&T really mean on an emotional level to customers? And is there really a difference for people between the well-known (and some would say infamous) brands Exxon Mobil and Texaco? But between Twitter and MySpace, the difference exists. The Barack Obama campaign lifted the candidates’ genuine character to be loved by the people beyond doubt.

6. FROM IDENTITY > TO PERSONALITY Identity is recognition. Personality is about character and charisma! Identity is descriptive. It is recognition. Personality is about character and charisma. Brand identities are unique and express a point of different vis-à-vis the competitive landscape. But this is only the first step. Brand personalities, on the other hand, are special. They have a charasmatic character that provokes an emotional response. American Airlines has a strong identity, but Virgin Airlines has personality. AOL’s identity is recognisable, but the unique and flexible graphic expression of Google’s logo stimulates our imagination.

7. FROM FUNCTION > TO FEEL The functionality of a product is about practical or superficial qualities only. Sensorial design is about experiences. Functionality can become trite if its appearance and usage are not also designed for the senses. Many marketers design for maximum function or visibility and not for the real experience of the consumer. Design is about responsible human solutions, based on innovation that presents a new set of sensory and subconscious experiences. Creating product identification by stressing product benefits is only relevant if product innovations are memorable and exciting to consumers. Toyota’s Prius, Apple products and stores, and Gillette razors are brands that are focused on presenting responsible solutions, fresh shapes, or sensory experiences consumers appreciate.

8. FROM UBIQUITY > TO PRESENCE Ubiquity is seen. Emotional presence is felt. Brand presence can have quite an impact on the consumer. It can forge a sound and permanent connection with people, especially if it is strategised as a lifestyle program. There is hardly a stadium, a player uniform, a concert hall, or an urban space of size (billboards, bus stops, walls, and even the inside of bathroom doors) around the world that has not been used to promote a brand. And then, of course, there are the T-shirts, caps, mugs, and so on.

But how effective is all this clutter, really? Most brand presence strategies are based on the concept of quantity, not quality. The fear that a competitor might occupy the physical territory becomes the motivator, instead of a focus on inventive ways of making a real, lasting connection. A natural garden wall in Tokyo that surrounds a new real estate project is so much more inspiring for people living in Tokyo than a commercial barricade.

9. FROM COMMUNICATION > TO DIALOGUE Communication is telling. Dialogue is sharing. Communication, as conducted by many companies, is primarily about information-and information is generally a one-way proposition. Take it and like it-hopefully. The bulk of most budgets is still spent on advertising efforts that approach consumers with the Bl bomber approach: a massive, all- encompassing blanket advance at the target audience.

Not only can advertising deliver more personal, targeted messages, but other media, such as digital communications, PR, brand presence, and promotions can also stretch the message much further to really speak to consumers where they “live”. Real dialogue implies a two-way street, a conversation with the consumer. Progress in social branding now allows this evolution to take place and will finally help foster a rewarding partnership between people and corporations.

10. FROM SERVICE > TO RELATIONSHIP Service is selling. Relationship is acknowledgment. Service involves a basic level of efficiency in a commercial exchange. It is what allows or prevents a sale from taking place. But relationship means that the brand representatives really seek to understand and appreciate who their customers are.

It is what you feel when you walk into an Apple store and find that the music, the d6cor, and the salespeople all speak the same language-the customer’s! It is how trusting you are when buying from Zappos, Amazon, or eBay. Who does not feel special when someone in a store, a restaurant, or even an online merchant welcomes you by name? The emotional component of a true relationship is not always targeted to our personal needs. We are still, in most cases, just a number. Sometimes a big number, but still a number.