Branding 2.0

Location Branding

Not only has social media turned marketing upside down, the explosion of really, really smart phones has changed where and how we brand.

One of the newest marketing concepts is location branding.  It’s not quite as deadly as the predators or drones the Air Force uses, but it is a little bit scary.

Walk by a sports store and it’s possible your phone will vibrate and flash a 20% coupon offer for a pair of running shoes.

I won’t bore you with the details surrounding the convergence of technologies, but with navigational tools like GPS, local marketing and branding have arrived.

In the old days (the 20^th century) brands relied on point-of-purchase (POP) advertising to encourage sales.  Then retailers decided that the signs that came with POP made the stores look junky and tossed them out.

While this advance in marketing is avant-garde, and doesn’t depend on store owner cooperation, I’m not sure it won’t get overwhelming, and backfire on the brands.

Sometimes too much of a good thing, is a bad thing.  Sometimes we just want to shop alone, and not be bothered by Big Brother.

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Smart Phones as Branding Tools

As we enter 2010 it’s becoming more apparent why they call the smart phone smart.

As phones get smarter, so do the consumers.  According to a Deloitte survey, an estimated 20% of shoppers used their cell phones to make, or aid, purchases this last holiday season.

One of the latest trends for mobile consumers is to pull out their smart phone and, as they roam through store aisles, scan bar codes to connect to the Web for vital information on the products they’re interested in.  They want to know what reviewers say about the product.  Does anyone have a better price?  Are e-coupons available?  What’s the product’s carbon footprint?  Consumers are now king because with more information than ever before, they have the upper-hand in the branding relationship.

Consumers know that by doing their own research it’s possible to save as much as 50-60% on a product — just by acting smart.  Oftentimes, it also pays big to avoid instant gratification.  Today’s smart, disciplined consumer can accumulate so many multiple savings — that its like having a second income.

Although some of the latest mobile-marketing technology is still a little clunky, smart brands are revamping their Web sites and their mobile apps to make things easier.

This trend is starting to gain momentum, and for brand managers there are some  implications.  First, the price/value ratio will  become more transparent to buyers, and second, the concept of “perceived-value” will lose some of its luster as consumers become better informed. 

The bottom line is that the better products will win, not just the ones with snazzy advertising.

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Twitter us with your thoughts @  twitter.com/BrandingComm or visit us on Facebook.

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