Now this is one funny story!
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:
1. Brand engagement makes sense
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.
2. A brand is essential for long term
relationships.
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.
3. Brand equity makes sense.
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.
