Not so long ago, advertising was the easiest way to reach out to consumers. Short messages in videos and images was all that was needed for the connect and for building brands. But in the last few years, there has been a paradigm shift in the way consumers embrace brands. Now brand behavior, brand touch and brand voice play key roles. At Transform, the Middle East Brand Summit, speaking on how important it is to have a clear brand concept, Syed Hussain, Marketing Manager, Middle East and Levant, Nestle said, “Customers must recognize that your brand stands up for something.”
The key is to make each individual consumer a potential advertisement. Sharing Nestle NIDO Mother’s Day Special campaign as a model example, Mr. Hussain shared that, “We launched a campaign in which children could express their love to their mothers through the ‘I Love Mama’ painting competition, creative drawing and making a video that was uploaded on the website. We collaborated with Guinness and created a record of making the world’s largest greeting card.”
He added, “When brands create an experience for consumers, those consumers walk away with material to share, in person and via social media, with friends and family, which helps create the brand identity.”
Speaking in context to brand voice, Alastair Herbert, Managing Director, Linguabrand said, “Words are maps to emotions. As communicators, looks and voice are two main senses to work with because the only way we experience the world is through our senses.”
According to Mr. Herbert, four key areas for brands must be, “mapping conversations, extracting emotions, powerful persuasion and refining verbal ID.”
Consistency is another important key area. Mr. Hussain said, “As brands we must create an identity with consistency that becomes difficult for competitors to match.”
