Moving from trademarks to Lovemarks

Studies will reveal that the way people act or behave is ruled 80 percent of the time by emotion and 20 percent by reason. Ask a marketer, and in all likelihood, he will agree that customers don’t decide what to buy or not to buy on a purely rational basis. When making decisions about products and services, they usually go with their guts. Emotions and decision-making are linked in the brain. Both rely on the same neural network. Emotion triggers preference, reason draws up the customer list, but emotion makes the decision.

There are hundreds of emotions, among which is the emotion called love. In any language or in any type or form — love is probably the most powerful emotion there is. Love is all about authentic fondness, fidelity, fervor, and faithfulness for the things in people’s lives that matter most. Growth and development is moved, inspired, and fired-up by people’s feelings, not by their logic, however sound it may appear.

In marketing communication, a philosophy for producing creative solutions and winning ideas anchored on the emotion of love was introduced by Saatchi & Saatchi. It is aptly called Lovemarks, a brainchild of the worldwide agency’s Global CEO Kevin Roberts. It was developed and introduced after years of studying the habits and behavior of consumers that sought to answer why some brands succeed while others die in the vine, and why some brands motivate while others struggle.

In the course of the research, Roberts realized that many brands have already lost their magic and need a major makeover; some others may catch attention through catchy jingles, witty copy, and arresting visuals; or earn respect through superior product quality. Sadly though, they don’t hit people where they should — their hearts.

From “Er” To “Est”

Lovemarks are a way of life to stir loyalty beyond reason. As Roberts underscored, it is the future beyond brands.

The thinking behind it dates back to the early days of advertising when emotion was a mere postscript. Brands were built and boomed in the commonsensical and functional world of product benefits. Twenty or 30 years ago there were fewer brands on the market and most ad campaigns followed a blinkered, feature-oriented strategy, and all barking the “er” propositions — newer, stronger, silkier, and brighter. To a certain extent this approach gets a product connected to its targeted market, since in those days there was often a big difference in terms of product quality.

In today’s business environment, the “er” descriptors are kaput. Old products are constantly reinvented and reintroduced. Better products are constantly launched that often eclipse the mature ones, and most importantly, product choice is now based on the combination of functional (rational), and non-functional (emotional) advantages. The challenge for marketers is to move the brand from an “er” position to an “est” platform, from mere comparative proposition to a superlative one.

In Lovemarks, when a new brand is born or launched the very first thing that happens is that it is registered as a trademark. Over time, as we consume the brands and become familiar with them they become “trustmark.” You visit Jollibee not just for its best-selling Chicken Joy, but for the experience it brings. The same thing with McDonald’s. You go to your fave McDo outlet to savor your much-desired Big Mac in a surrounding that is familiar as home.

There is a whole psychology behind such craving that leads to infinite loyalty, something to which you can completely relate with. After all, you may have been a Safeguard kid and remain to this day, a Safeguard adult. You may have a bunch of matching Nike apparels in your closet, a set of Pantene shampoo and conditioner in your bathroom, SanMig Light in your fridge right next to a classic Coke or Del Monte pineapple juice, the soda without the guilt, and a Toyota Vios in your two-car garage. You will agree that some of these brands are better than their competitors, and some are traditional, but at the end of the day, you have to own up that your allegiance is quite unexplainable.

What The World Needs Now

Robert’s enthusiasm on the power of devotion, and the manipulation of love aren’t mere academic speak. Companies make billions of pesos a year by playing with the emotions of “feelers” like you and me. Consumers have a mind and a stomach of their own, but they too can get confused, nervous, and insecure. Their purchase is largely influenced by brands they are emotionally linked up with, brands they believe in, brands that they trust, and brands that they love. Indeed, what the world needs now is love sweet love. That has never been clearer.

“As brands have become commodified and are owned by corporations, Lovemarks are people-owned. People and brands come together in transactions; people and Lovemarks come together in relationships. Mysterious, sensual, and intimate, Lovemarks rise above brands. Brands can be easily forgotten or replaced, but Lovemarks cannot —they enthuse consumer affinity. They don’t just deliver beyond your expectations, but they create an intimate, emotional connection that you cannot live without. In a nutshell, Lovemarks don’t impress — they inspire,” Roberts explained.

Aiming For The Heart

As it transfers to a new home it can now rightfully claim its own, Ace Saatchi & Saatchi, (a 59-year-old ad agency), brings with it a new focus: to fill the Philippine market with Lovemarks, a guiding value that signals vital transformations and new beginnings for the agency that have been proven to work. A case in point is S&S’s win in September 2006, when it garnered a US$430-million advertising account with US retail giant JC Penney because of the idea of lovemarks. From then on, JC Penney altered its slogan from “everything you need” and “it’s all inside,” to “everyday inspiration” and “every day matters.” Locally, Lovemarks are used to the advantage of Procter & Gamble, Mead Johnson, and Toyota brands, among others.

“Surprisingly for an initiative from an advertising agency — particularly one which has emotion at its heart — there is a science behind Lovemarks,” Matt Sedon, Ace Saatchi & Saatchi vice chairman, enthused. This is the Love/ Respect (L/R) axis — a tool that allows Saatchi to plot where any particular brand, person or thing sits on an emotional scale. To illustrate, Rubik’s Cube, Paris Hilton, reality shows, Tamagotchi are pop brands. They are fads and infatuations that have low respect but high love. Water and electricity are commodities, with zero brand heat and thus command low respect and low love. Most local brands in the country are classified as basic brands rife with the “er” words, which bring on high respect, and low love while Jollibee and Apple are labeled Lovemarks with high respect and high love.

Lovemarks aren’t just another ad agency gimmick — they are a critical element to winning the race. Consumers don’t have time for you — they have enough to think about already — and a functional product story will get lost in today’s cluttered media environment. Here are some more integrated thoughts on the Lovemarks philosophy from both Roberts and Seddon that you can use to your advantage.

1. Declaring a dream. People want to lead inspirational lives. They want to reach for the stars. Brands are not about technology, they’re about inspiration, leading, and dreaming big. USA president-elect Barack Obama did not say, “I have a mission statement.” He said, “I have a vision,” a dream like what Martin Luther King declared.

2. Making the connection. To win in today’s marketplace, you have to attract and involve people, not shout at them. You have to love them. Selling by yelling is fatal. Love cannot be commanded. It can only be given, and can be earned back by the giver who creates great intimate stories using the five senses.

3. Building a “si-so-mo” playground. When you communicate bring in si-so-mo — the interactivity of sight, sound, and motion on screen from television, to your laptop to your mobile phone. Think of innovative formats, novel narratives, newfangled games, and fresh videos are shaping the future of how you connect to your targets.

4. Getting ahead with a max-out performance. Being victorious in the future is neither about management and doing things right, nor about leadership and doing the right thing. It is being the best you can be, born out of immense inspiration and colossal courage. The challenge is to unlock the secrets of how you get out in front, how you become a Lovemark, and how you stay one forever.

If you want your brand to succeed in this fiercely competitive world, transpose it from a lousy, static trademark to a grand, dynamic Lovemark. For sure you will see the difference.

* * *

E-mail bongo@vasia.com or bong_osorio@abs-cbn.com for comments, questions and suggestions. Thank you for communicating.