What
makes a brand successful?There are brand products that are extremely successful. In the meantime, whole categories of products were named after some brands. They can sometimes even feel irreplaceable.
'Persil is an attractive brand. When you think of Persil, first thing that comes to mind is the color white and cleanliness but also reliability. There was a slogan used for Persil for decades: You know what to expect. That was a good slogan.', said editor-in-chief of a German magazine 'Advertising and Sales' Jochen Kalka.
Persil is among Germany's most popular brands. More than 80 percent of consumers spontaneously say it's name when asked about washing powder. This Henkel product has been on the market for 100 years and has had a crystal clean image. It perfectly follows all product labeling rules.
Three commandments
Three product labeling rules are: selling ability, prominence and the most important - brand attractiveness. Each advertisement has to carefully present brand attractiveness to the potential costumer.' If you choose to ignore one of these rules, your brand could loose a big portion of it's positive image. The best example is Benetton. This fashion company wanted to gain popularity in the eighties no matter what. They managed to do so but they had not sold more sweaters on that account', said Jochen Kalka.
'Benetton is a great example of how fast and with the help of aggressive advertising you can make your brand popular. Benetton only managed to shock people and forgot a crucial part - attractiveness. The way they depicted AIDS patients or ducks covered in oil was a bit too aggressive. Benetton wanted to catch everybody's attention for whatever cost. But if you do not include attractiveness, your product could be in serious trouble'.
Who still believes McDonald's is healthy?
Another threat this marketing expert detected are the new advertisements which appeal to consumer's sore conscience. Lufthansa has, for example, calculated the amount of carbon dioxide emissions in their planes. There are also green cars. Another example would be McDonald's where a person could read about the nutritive ingredients in their hamburgers.
These 'sore conscience adds' conflict with the present brand image and do not correspond with reality, Kalka said. Because who goes to McDonald's for a healthy meal? However there are also positive examples. Like BMW's Mini as one of them. Or Mercedes. Jochen Kalka thinks marketing experts were successful in sending the intended message. Suddenly, even the cars which overturned during trial runs became attractive as well.
Mercedes A-class overturned during the trial run when it came across a curious reindeer. Mercedes acted provocatively and hired Boris Becker to send the message that everyone makes mistakes. It worked. Everyone forgave the fact that their car overturned. When you make a mistake, the easiest way is to admit it. That is also the smartest thing to do.
