Sunday, October 27, 2013

Titi Ogunbayo- Blog Entry #6


Never judge a book by its cover is an adage that rang true for me during the class visit to Landor. When I visited the company website, I was overwhelmed and turned-off. I found the website to be cluttered and cumbersome; too much info and no clear map on how to get it. I thought to myself: “this company must be worth their weight in gold, if they are confident enough to have this be one of the first touch points through which people experience their brand.”
And boy, was I right! Landor, unlike the other companies we’ve visited didn’t have any particular decorative appeal nor was the reception area teeming with employees. The following are the things that stood out to me:
-They served refreshments: we are lowly students and yet they cared enough to make us feel at home. I wonder what they do when their clients visit?
-Mimi, the Client Director who spoke to us, had this energy and excitement as soon as she opened her mouth. She hadn’t even started talking about Landor’s work and I could tell she loved her job. That is the kind of enthusiasm I want in my career- it was refreshing to see that.
-Landor approaches its work from this perspective: “Without a story, you become just a commodity.” Who doesn’t like a good story? No wonder Mimi loved her job; getting to brand each product or service, even the less exciting ones by starting with a story seems to be a far more interesting and successful approach.
-The Crown Royal case study left me thirsting for more. How do focus groups held in elaborately designed rooms lead to a perfectly crafted bottle design?
- As I mentioned in class, I thought I wanted to explore the PR industry but the session at Landor piqued my interest in Branding. I know that brands live in the hearts or minds of consumers and no matter how much branding goes into a particular product or service, the brand ultimately belongs to the consumer. I am interested in branding because I want to know how successful brands get it right. What story has to be told or reflected in the product or service for consumers to connect to it?
-It was also important to see the relationship between Mimi and Tam, the Client Associate. An indication of workplace culture is if there is a pleasant but respectful rapport between employees of different levels.
Some of the opportunities and challenges brands face as it pertains to their role and identity in consumers’ minds are:
-Breaking through the clutter to occupy position themselves in the minds of the consumers.
-Not just occupying a space in the minds of consumers but getting there first. If a brand positions itself first for a particular product category, it will be hard for another brand to take over that spot.
-Getting there first is only half the solution- consumers must have positive perceptions of brands.
- If consumers have positive perceptions of a brand, those consumers are essentially unpaid brand ambassadors. Their positive word of mouth can help a brand gain more customers than advertising ever could.
-Positive perceptions sometimes lead to brand loyalty.
-If the perception is negative, it is hard to reoccupy that space with a positive perception.

Summer’s Eve recently informed its Facebook Fans that it does not test its products on animals underneath a photo of various employees with their pets. As a consumer I must admit that animal testing is not an issue that informs my purchases. I think it might be because animal testing was such a big issue some years back and a lot of cosmetic and personal care companies vowed to stop such practices. And so I just don’t think of it but I’m sure other Summer’s Eve users who have a more ethical approach to shopping were already aware of this. I did a little digging to find out if Summer’s Eve’s competitor- RePhresh tests its products on animals and I couldn’t find that info anywhere, not even on their website. I always thought one of the major points of differentiation between the two brands was that, Summer’s Eve seems to appeal to younger women and RePhresh was for older women. But it seems animal testing might be another point of differentiation.

 

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