Talkback: Brave new branding needed for new type of consumer

For years advertising and design agencies have been telling their clients to be brave. Hell, we even named our company after the concept. But what does being brave mean in 2006? And why does it matter?

In his blog Adliterate, London-based advertising planner Richard Huntington provides a pretty good steer on the right kind of brave thinking required in the prevailing climate.

Huntington's view is that advertising works best when it's unique and so grabbing that it gets people talking, thereby adding a powerful multiplier effect to the advertising spend.

But, he adds, talkability shouldn't just come from how great the ad looks, or how funny it is, but from the interest generated by the potency of the opinion it expresses - because the type of conversations this leads to are all about your brand, not just your ad.

Most New Zealand brands are inherently conservative and, I think, don't express an opinion as much as they should. And it's a big, lost opportunity.

Just ask any SME owner to identify a car brand that matches the personality of their company and I can almost guarantee they'll all say Audi - possibly a 4WD Audi if they are feeling really adventurous (nice performance, well-engineered, but in no way a flashy show-off).

It's just not the Kiwi way to stand out for being different.

With a few exceptions, we prefer to blend in and go about our business quietly.

The trouble with this is that we all start sounding and looking the same, which doesn't do anyone any good.

As people grapple with more options and attention saturation, they increasingly look for brands that are opinionated about something that matters; brands that are meaningfully opinionated.

A good example of this sentiment is the rise of lifestyles-of-health-and-sustainability consumers (Lohas), who spend money on products they feel reflect socially responsible behaviour.

About 32 per cent of US consumers identify with this niche, which is said to be worth US$230 billion.

Issues-based positioning is no longer the exclusive domain of charities and governments - just look at BP or McDonald's.

Smart brands are recognising the value of embracing social issues - the things that really matter in the lives of consumers - to differentiate themselves from the pack.

We recently helped to create a brand of commercial tea and coffee called Scarborough Fair.

Some people said it was madness trying to launch a new brand in a stagnant category ruled by multinationals and untouchable household-name brands.

If we had applied the same thinking as the incumbents, it certainly would have been commercial suicide. But we didn't.

We took the time to find out what really matters to a growing group of consumers- discomfort with entrenched commercial practices that keep many Third World growers of tea and coffee desperately poor and deprived of basic rights, such as clean water and proper nutrition.

Scarborough Fair is Fair Trade certified, which ensures its growers are properly rewarded and can lead better lives than they would under mainstream commercial supply arrangements.

Certainly, you're not in the game if you don't taste great or are overpriced, but Scarborough Fair gives globally aware tea and coffee drinkers an extremely powerful reason to put it in the shopping basket.

How many other categories are screaming out for a new entrant that stands for something that really matters - and not just a new colour or faster widget?

The brands that will stand the test of time will matter to consumers in a way that far outreaches the functional needs of the products and services they represent.

Sure it requires bravery, but mostly it demands more listening and less talking.

* Mike Pepper is a brand strategist at brand communications agency Brave New World.