The English term branding originates from the old Norwegian word 'brandr' and stems from cattle hustling, where cattle was branded to be able to separate them from other herds. Trademarks are today’s equivalent and are used to distinguish a product or company from the competition.

It seems indeed that Ms. Cow still has many marketing and branding secrets to share with us.

In a study published by Anthrozoos involving 516 dairy farmers in the UK, Dr. Catherine Douglas and Dr. Peter Rowlinson at Newcastle University found that treating these animals as individuals increased milk production.

Though at first glance this survey doesn’t seem to provide much value outside of farming, marketers might discover some hidden insight.

By increasing milk production, Ms. Cow proves to us that giving her an individual name had a positive impact on results. From this, we can thus deduce the three following arguments:

By naming his cattle, the farmer managed to increase his “employee’s” productivity.
This shows us that good HR policies are helpful and that marketing starts within the company.

You can call your customer sir or madam; but in order to develop a strong relationship, one has to call his customer by his name or personal brand.  

As a reminder, Brand equity refers to the marketing outcomes that accrue thanks to a product with its brand name, compared to those that would accrue if the same product did not possess any brand name. If we consider Ms. Cow as an asset of the company, we might think of selling her at a higher price than any other un-named cow. But that’s not all; any other stakeholder which has a direct or indirect contact with Ms. Cow will show a higher satisfaction.
For more info check also this post.

At second glance, we might notice that this survey also has a hidden message related to social media.

Any individual cow is part of a larger herd. By naming and sharing a stronger connection with each member of the herd, one can expect to see the cows’ welfare improve and anticipate an increase in milk production (as proof of satisfaction).

Consequently, individually satisfied cows might positively influence the whole herd. 

This anecdote sounds a lot like good brand engagement or consumer service, and is highly expected from most companies.

On the other hand, these same principles apply to personal branding and the way companies should use social media to converse with the crowd.

The market should not be perceived as one big uniform herd, but rather, a collection of individuals with names and personalities.

This “awareness” might be the reason why some people talk to their plants or why others name their car.

And if you believe this is crazy, remember you’re reading the blog of a lemur.

  A creative mind that enjoys sharing its knowledge and passion with others.
Often found promoting ideas and innovations, the Fan is a “brand” advocate by heart.

The Fans have an idyllic relationship with a particular brand, sport, person or state of mind and want the world to know about it. Their blog shows genuine passion for the main topic and a strong red line in the communication. The Fans convey a message coming from the heart, punctuated by a rash desire for self-expression.

Fans keep part of their childhood dreams and visions. Their blog focuses on a chosen “hero”; hence, the general layout of the blog can be extreme. It can be simple, almost minimalist with a focus on the actual and personal (creative) content, or it can on the contrary be full of colours, pictures and videos. This depends on the main topic in focus, and the age and state of mind of the blogger. Fans will most probably not use a personal domain name and will use a free, yet personalised, template. The writing style reflects passion which at times can compensate for a lack of mature communication skills.

Fans enjoy interactions regarding their own writing. Comments and feedback are very important, and they gladly share their view with other people. Yet, the purpose of a fan’s blog is to show their appreciation and love, and although the world may be listening, their contribution still is something very personal. Most Fans therefore have few or limited readership, but have a very strong bond with them. One can also be a fan of his own life and use his blog as personal diary, as an autobiography and for self-branding purposes.

Fans are quite knowledgeable about their preferred subject and will be able to find a balance between evidence and opinion. They probably have several interesting sources they're tapping into, but are not necessarily visible. Fans provide their readers with their own and unique view on the subject and do not wish to resemble an exhaustive encyclopaedia or replace the official press. They will therefore combine their acquired knowledge with the message they wish to share, rather than talking about crude facts.

Fans will probably be members of different social networks and will potentially use other social media to share their passion. The blogs will likely use videos and pictures, yet the use of many textual links should not be expected. The Fan’s Blogroll will expectedly have related fan blogs and other subjects of interest which are not directly related to their blog.

Advertising and affiliations are not important and adverts should have a connection with the blog’s subject and its design.

Example of blogs: Groupie, Sport Fan, Supporter, Amateur Philosopher, Brand Lover, NGO member

 The Mechanic

Mechanics have an adventuresome spirit.
They have a compelling drive to understand how things work and like to take things apart to understand its functioning.
They have an action-oriented, “independent” spirit.

Mechanics live in the world of the concrete and the applicatory . They have patience and may devote a lot of time to “research”. They enjoy taking their latest gift apart and analyzing the way it works. Though not interested in theoretical concepts, they are good at logical analysis. Mechanics have a free and adventurous spirit and a rich inner world where everything seems connected. Though not necessarily the most structured communicator, they know what they want to tell and will pass the message accordingly. Some Mechanics can write methodically and almost algorithmically while others may resemble mad scientists.

Mechanics are mainly attracted to technology, cars, computers, mobile phones, etc., but some are more scientifically oriented and will dissect formulas and algorithms instead. They are often technical-minded and quite skilled in their field. Mechanics are ingenious people, but their creativity may be used as a means to discover the truth: how something works. This also means that the Mechanic knows how to appreciate harmony.

The Mechanic’s blog is often very descriptive and will use many pictures and videos to present their discoveries and share their opinion. The blog does not necessarily require a unique domain name nor does it need to have amazing looks. This however might change based on the blogger’s readership and the desire to be more appealing and understandable.

Mechanics are not particularly people persons and tend to feel and understand emotions like the functioning of a clock. They are not critics and will first explain objectively before expressing an opinion. Their blogs are mainly a monologue, a place to share their discoveries. The blog-posting pace depends on their capacity to acquire new items. Mechanics do not often respond to comments and even less to critics and will provide personal information on a “to know” basis. (This is of course relative to their personal limitations).

The Mechanic’s blog is introverted, meaning the writing style and informative part will be based on personal vision and knowledge rather than external sources. They might carry out many comparisons between competitive products but will not specifically look for other sources to confirm their analyses (whether technical or theoretical).

Mechanics do not wish to convey a message or express an opinion. Their desire is one of objectivity and to share the truth with their readers. Though not a pioneer, they will often look for new products on the market in order to sustain their interest and remain relevant as an information provider.

Mechanics are usually not particularly well-connected and limit their involvement in social networks and media. Their Blogroll is often not comprehensive.

Mechanics do not care about commercials and will strongly limit them on the blog. Their focus is on the objective information they can deliver and the joy they have by sorting it out. The rest is secondary and can be perceived as a nuisance.

Here comes the second profile.

The Administrator

Often seen as a pillar in the community, they live in a world of facts and concrete needs. Their eyes constantly scan his personal environment to make sure everything runs well. Administrators have such a clear vision of the way things should be, that they naturally take on leadership roles.

For the Administrators, nothing is more important than the relevance of the conveyed information and the way it is applied by the new owner. Though creativity is appreciated, it only comes second. Administrators are highly regarded for their ability to explain how things should be done.

Their blog is usually well structured and to the point. Administrators have good insight and are very knowledgeable about the chosen subjects. They often have enough experience and confidence not to use too many external links in his posts, but will gladly share their sources with others. When presenting schematics, they are most often their creations. On the one hand, they believe and trust in their own capacities and succeed in passing on this confidence to their followers. On the other hand, Administrators are humble enough to not put themselves at the forefront. Most Administrators are experienced and therefore of older age. Their writing style reflects their gained wisdom.

Administrators do not post very often and prefer bringing value with each of their writings.They do not really like sharing personal information except in cases where anecdotes could be used to provide added-value to an explanation. They are pragmatists, living in the world of deeds. People appreciate their insight and envision them as leaders in their area of expertize. They are often extremely active in society.

Administrators are extrovert and believe in the need for interaction. They might be actively using micro-blogging solutions, but again to share relevant information. There is only one way for building society and it starts with sharing. They are gatherers by nature. 

Administrators are not looking for new stuff. They are not pioneers, but rather prefer focusing their message around systems that already have proven results. Sustainability is very important. They will not be the first to write about a particular subject, but will integrate it when there is some quantified and qualitative data available.

Administrators will most often have their own domain name and a personalized template, though a simple and straight-forward one with little navigation capabilities.

Administrators do not have the need to use social networks and may use a select few. They are not actively looking to create new connections and readers, as they are automatically attracted or referred to them.

Advertising is not a priority on the Administrator's blog and they would normally limit it to be relevant to the content.

Example of blogs: CEO, Business Man, Politician, Social Sciences Specialist, NGO

A brand is a symbolic embodiment of a company, product or service representing a promise to the consumer. It carries with it certain associations, ideas and images that convey the essence of its proprietor. Its value is one of trust and predictability. The consumer knows what to expect and feels reassured about his new purchase.

We have now come to the perfect opportunity to present our logo, the visual representation of our vision, mission and values:

 

Since the dawn of mankind, people have been looking for ways to attract the attention of the audience. With time and thanks to technological support, strategies and techniques have been refined and improved. This has evolved into the often misrepresented disciplines we know today, under the name of Branding & Marketing.

With growing importance attributed to branding, Brand Managers  were later introduced in order to increase the perceived value of brands and products, by creating an image or identity in the mind of the target market. This is known as Positioning or the 'relative competitive comparison' of the product in a given market. Positioning has its own life cycle and evolution process, and exists whether a company proactively acts or not. Through research, analysis and strategic actions, a company can formulate a position that will influence the perceived image in peoples’ minds.

Companies aspired to carefully maintain the position of their brand. Any small change in their message or strategy could seriously harm their brand. Different control levels had therefore been introduced to protect their brand identity and its perceived value. Such controls are not an easy task and it have actually become much more difficult with the numerous new channels that social media has brought. Many brand managers and marketers still don't comprehend that the Web is a conversation. People can blog about you, rate your products and use many other forms of user-generated-content to remix or disrupt your brand. This has encouraged many to suggest that companies should give up controlling their brand and instead include a participation strategy and embrace this new acquired freedom.

More adaptive companies have started integrating Brand Engagement  in their marketing strategy. A brand’s value is solely based on the perception people have in their mind and therefore it makes sense to say that consumers have more claim to the brand than the actual owner. But this is not only true for the consumer; this is the case for every stakeholder of the brand, starting with the employees.

By combining brand engagement with openness for a multi-positioning strategy, companies can better harness the advantages offered by today’s social media. Martin Lindstromcalls it the “Me Selling Proposition”. In this model, consumers assume ownership of the brand and do most of the communication work for you as part of a brand community. This model infringes and encompasses other selling propositions or positioning by empowering the brand’s stakeholders.

While it is common knowledge that most global consumers brands are making their first steps into branding 2.0  by facilitating interactions and becoming more socially and environmentally aware, this can also apply to smaller firms or B2B companies wishing  to be part of this new revolution.

On the other hand, social media creates a lot of pollutant information. Such noise not only impacts the quality of the information received and used by the final consumer, but will also force consumers to lose touch with the guidance offered by one unique brand positioning. This means that a right equilibrium must be found, and interaction between brand and engaged stakeholders should become strategic and based on clarity and mutual understanding.

Click on picture to magnify.

The ZackBrandit team wishes to take a step further and introduce Brand Empowerment. Instead of broadcasting information or playing the role of a community facilitator, companies should be able to stretch their Brand Identity  and include their customers and potential markets in their overall strategy. By empowering advocates and any other stakeholders with a piece of the brand’s identity, you can yield the same effect as providing company shares to employees. This is not about control, nor even management.

This is what may help companies benchmark their Brand Equity 2.0, which will be covered in a future post. 

 

We will use a series of posts (like this one) to present our 16 profiles one by one.

These posts will help you better understand our approach with the Zack’s Profiling System which we will be launching very soon.

The Promoter

Often representing the interests of others, Promoters know how to convey an important message and creatively direct the target reader to the right place.

A Blog with a Promoter profile is often perceived as someone with the desire to communicate a message rather than facts. Charm and creativity have a central place in this blog. The blogger has no desire to explain something logically or philosophically, instead he would like us to know how he envisions a specific brand, subject or item and the way we should perceive it.

Promoters will use different techniques for this purpose. The blog has usually some form of a business-like approach; hence the visual quality of the blog plays an important role. It can be formal or fun, colourful or not, but Promoters will often arouse the reader’s senses. They probably uses a personal domain name and a paid or personalised template. The writing style and its layout might be well studied and a “PR”-like feeling could be experienced.

Promoters enjoy interactions, comments and feedbacks and will naturally seek to understand what people like and need in order to make the appropriate connections with his readers. They want to have one positioning voice in the middle of many interactions. Their blog often uses widely used features and becomes a small gathering place for lovers and fans of the Promoter's chosen blog subject.

Promoters like to share and believes in the need to use external links, videos, music and other media, provided it is in his interest. The Promoter’s Blogroll will expectedly have some famous names or brands.

Advertising and affiliations are important and adverts should have a connection with the blog’s subject and its design.

Promoters are often extrovert, has a high number of acquaintances and may use several social networks or media. Those are found on the blog in widget form.

Example of blogs: Advertisers, Marketers, self-proclaimed Top-Bloggers