Giulia Iorio-Ndlovu, Chief Marketing Officer of Simba, states that today’s brand managers must walk a tightrope between creativity and technology, innovation and empathy.
The role that brands play in society has changed dramatically over the decades. More recently, as digital migration, the rise of social media and the Covid-19 pandemic have affected our lives, we have also come to expect a more authentic connection with brands.
Be humble
As your brand evolves, do not look for excuses as to why it is not performing. Be honest with yourself about where you are at any given time, and work from there. The perception of your brand may not be what it once was, and your relevance can be affected. This can result in a loss of market share. This can be painful to accept, but once you face reality, it can be liberating. Confront the issues and their key drivers, and find the courage to challenge the status quo, to make changes and to start invigorating your brand with a fresh perspective.
Be genuine
The most effective brands reach people because their messaging resonates. Simon Sinek notes that, ‘it starts with why’. The author and motivational speaker points out that the more successful individuals, leaders, companies and brands are able to inspire by building trust and authenticity. On a foundation of trust, it is possible to make the connection to the brand’s product or practical purpose.
It is important to share with people why you believe in what you believe, and to make that the main part of your communications – instead of what a brand/product does. Being ‘genuine’ means sharing what you believe your brand’s higher purpose is, and standing by it in everything you do.
This is also one of the key trends we believe will shape the future of the foods-and-beverages industry over the next 10 years: trust and authenticity. At PepsiCo, we have renamed it ‘Mzansi Local Pride’. The idea is to be locally authentic, but it also speaks to heightened consumer concerns around the origins of products and ingredients, which fuels the demand for transparency and local sourcing.
Nando’s, as an example, with its mischievous, topical way of communicating to consumers, has long been able to make insightful points about South African society. It can do so because its messaging feels genuine, without trying too hard. The grilled-chicken brand rolls out its topical campaigns quickly and timeously, in a tone that is simultaneously light-hearted but principled, and which manages to navigate South Africa’s political landscape without offending anybody too badly.
Step into your consumers’ reality
Brands that continue to rely on old-fashioned, transactional relationships with people are out of touch with today’s world. As custodians of the Simba brand, we recently embarked on repositioning and refresh of our brand. For this, we wanted to celebrate inclusivity and update the brand for the younger market. Brand development requires an open mind, and active listening to consumers. For us, this took the form of structured research, but also informal chats with loyal lovers of our product.
Balance art and science
Finding the balance between which key brand elements to keep, which to discard and which to refresh, is challenging. But one can be guided by the consumers who support your brand. By making these basic human connections part of your strategy, it stays authentic.
As in all things marketing, helping your brand evolve requires a balance of science and art. Brand management can be based on strong insights and data trends, but then there is the act of joining the dots and expressing your brand creatively. This is what fires people’s imagination. You might buy a product because you can touch it, but you choose a brand because you feel it.
Build positivity
Dove, with its Real Beauty campaign, was able to literally improve the self-esteem of young women globally. The activations in this campaign successfully shifted perceptions of beauty and launched conversations about unreasonable portrayals of women and beauty in the media. By reinforcing that beauty is universal and holistic and is not restricted to a single ideal, the campaign had a broader social purpose – making beauty a source of confidence, not anxiety – which garnered much well-deserved media coverage.
So deeply did the campaign resonate with women, pioneering purposeful brand positioning, that it ran for more than a decade. The campaign is still going today, having rolled out billboard activations, a series of short films and a multimedia Campaign For Real Beauty. When you do this well, it can have long-lasting impact.
It is easy to think of purpose as just the latest brand buzzword. But we believe it is much more than that. It is a mindset change. In this age of multiple devices, brands need to earn the right to enter people’s lives. They must contribute to the society and the communities they serve, beyond mere profits and financial targets.
Consistent, authentic brand behaviour can distinguish your brand more than any expensive, stand-alone campaign. During the work to energise the Simba brand, and this period of deep self-reflection, we came to understand that purpose needn’t be serious, nor boring. Purpose can be fun, as long as it is authentic.
