By Brady Rothschild, Account Support
I recently read an article in HuffPost Business called “The Future is in the Hands of Brands”about building a brand customers can relate to. In this article, they spoke about how certain Youtube channels are viewed millions of times, even though the content of these channels is not exactly great. The article talks about relating to your audience and creating something they can even feel a part of. I feel this is especially important in an age where people are famous for being famous and we have a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips day or night… In fact it’s probably in your pocket right now.
Brands are responsible for making products or services that are there to help the customers and enrich their lives in some way. To do this, brands have to also create messages that are aspirational for the consumer, but at the same time are not too far out of reach for the consumers.
People want to understand why you are doing what you are doing. This means that the brand has to communicate a clear message that resonates with their target audience. They don’t want to see someone who was born into money become successful, but rather their neighbor building computers in his garage making a success of this and leaving them to feel like they could have the next big idea.
This also explains why people these days are famous for being famous; they beat down the doors between what they are considered as now (an average Joe) and what they want to become (a star on a reality tv show). The make sure to put themselves in the right place at the right time, but they are also someone who we can see ourselves in. They are just normal people who are working hard to make themselves famous and in doing so are building a brand people can relate to.
This process of branding yourself is the way brands need to look at pushing their name. Simon Sinek explains it very well using Apple as an example in a Ted talk where he talks about why they make the world’s best computer. This makes the customer feel like they need this product regardless of what else is going on. This is so effective because brands can push a message and create a feeling that creates brand loyalty.
I am not at all saying brands should cheapen their concept to get customers interested, but rather make something remarkable for the consumer’s attention whilst at the same time keeping the work tangible for the consumer to be able to feel like they could really get behind that concept. The next challenge is to turn those feeling into action because the message you want to resonate with them causes a powerful action and a movement towards a brand inspiring a loyalty since the consumer can relate to the brand.
What brands are you loyal to? Let us know on Twitter using the hashtag #TheGossAgency.
