The semantic blog » The tendentious Dr. Utterson is back | Chapter 1

Back to Home Written on 28-Jan-2010 by cristian.saracco

Some of you, actually only few of you, remember the very beginnings of Brand 3.0... The original name of this social network was "Jekyll & Hide on Branding"... It had 3 pages and the third one was the one that talked about trends, and the one who 'wrote' there was Dr. Utterson, the lawyer and loyal friend of Jekyll.

mr-hides

So, getting to the point, this is the first post of several which will talk about trends and branding... connections, implications and challenges... Hope you enjoy them!

Trend #1: Status and recognition

When you interact with other people you will discover (it's not so difficult) that almost everything comes back to the need of recognition.

So, in a certain way and as a relative concept, status is like a brand driver; however, it looks like during the next months/years (perhaps and in certain way due to the crisis) those brands that behaved as traditional status symbols are not going to be the "aspirational desire" that we saw before.

As it was said in TrendWatching 2010, "status is to be attained in many more ways than leading a lifestyle centered on hoarding as many branded, luxury goods as possible"....

In certain societies, financial wealth is becoming something less important... In those cases, luxury goods would lose relevance.

Hence, status could be understood as:

Green Status: For these people, to drive a Prius would give more status than having a Rolls
Info Status: For people who have an audience willing to hear what they know... what they have to say
Experience status: it will be more important the story behind the product than some functional/physical status symbols
Knowledge status: As more people are becoming masters in the use of the tools, to "know why" will become a status symbol
Online status: Hmmmm... You know what I'm talking about [however, try to avoid the recipes to build your personal brand]
And... Traditional status will be seen only in emerging middle class people in countries like the ones that belong to the BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India, China]

Challenge #1: The brand understanding shift

wheel 1

This will not be to re-invent the wheel... If, at least for a moment, we admit that the trend presented before is true [actually, there is no reason to believe another thing... I'm just telling what it's observed], brands are facing a great inflection point and companies will need to do something:

More than ever, brands must behave as a holistic experience considering the brand itself, the communication, but also, the product, the value perceived, its usefulness, availability, related services... And other new issues like interactivity, asynchronism and tailor-made
The ones who are acquiring online, info and knowledge status are becoming prescribers... Brands must make those individuals fall in love with them...
Luxury brands are facing the end of their golden age. People are beginning to give more weight to issues that are out of the "economy sphere" to achieve their desired recognition

Actually, it seems like the real issue is not in the brand but in a need of a deep company shift in some encysted beliefs. Dont' you think?

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Tags: trends,inspiration,branding,insights,allegro 234,cristian saracco

Comments

written on 28-Jan-2010
russell.volckmann says:
... yes I do believe, Cristiàn... and have been thinking about some of the same things.

One conclusion is that brands need to accomplish what governments have failed to nurture or provide: intelligence, imagination, emotion, beauty, passion, esteem, self-actualization, harmony, community.

Related ideas will be part of my next video interview... keep you posted!
written on 29-Jan-2010
cristian.saracco [http://www.brand30.net] says:
Hi Russ!

Thanks for your message (Uopppsss... I still have your E-Mails to answer... I'm waiting Julius and Ed comments )

It's true what you are saying... Actually, during th next chapters of Dr. Utterson... these ideas will be stressed!
written on 30-Jan-2010
Ed says:
Cristian - Google translation is not so good ) - this is Lupa's (below) ... Julio and the other's were no more clear from your "en espanol" side ... but I did see Russell's ...
From Lupa:
"What good this new-old section of Brand 3.0! I, like Malena, neither knew (I remember when I talked about the mafia of jam or something, if my memory serves ... jeje!).
I agree with posteo, today is giving people more ball to other things, but we see the rise of CSR in most (not all) the fields of management: for example yesterday I read that more and more companies to being implemented in their areas of Communications (the case of the Serene is one of many: http://ar.hsmglobal.com/notas/56095-la-sereni ... table), I think just because they want to communicate other experience, more human, so to speak-to-all types of internal and external stakeholders, with whom they interact everyday."

My apologies for not speaking Spanish ..

So - from me - I enjoyed reading this post Cristian - but I need to let my thoughts about it ferment overnight (yes I am enjoying some wine) before I share ideas + thoughts .... Is this what your email was?

What I like here is that:- there is thought by good minds with true purpose (over and above brand because I sense that) that I hope at some stage can become action, that helps lead others, who might be confused, to a place of better understanding, community, mutual support and action based in mutual interest - not self.
Tomorrow or Sunday I will send something - right now we are monitoring a winter storm headed for Charlotte, that we hope will stay to the north, for the sake of the horses ..
written on 30-Jan-2010
Lupa says:
Ed!!! My apologies for not sharing it in English! (btw Google wasn´t so bad at all )
"I agree with this post, today people is more interested in other things and we can see it in the rise of CSR in most (if not in all) the fields of management: yesterday I was reading that more and more companies are implementing in their Communications areas (the argentine case of La Serenisima, is one of many), I think just because they really want to communicate other type of experience, more "human", to every stakeholder (internal and external), with whom they interact everyday".
I hope to read your thoughts soon!
written on 30-Jan-2010
Gabriel Catalano [http://gabrielcatalano.worpress.com] says:
Amigos,
Comparto totalmente lo aquí posteado, pero la verdad que llevarlo a la práctica con algunos clientes (empresas de servicios) es muy difícil, porque siguen confiando todo su presupuesto a estrategias de marketing 1.0, sin creer o validar la apuesta hacia nuevos puntos de contacto.

Esto amplía la categoría a "Temerosos de la Innovación".

Lo más triste es que desbordan en palabras de un conocimiento de las nuevas tendencias, venden y supuestamente asesoran, pero ellos no lo practican.

"Haz lo que yo digo, más no lo que yo hago"

Saludos para todos...!

Gabriel Catalano
written on 31-Jan-2010
Ed says:
Hi Cristian - So ... I have got as far as the first sentence and have to interject ...

"When you interact with other people you will discover (it's not so difficult) that almost everything comes back to the need of recognition."

.... I believe now especially, and maybe in the past, that those we interact with are in the minority (of all people), and have transcended with their own confidence - however obtained - the fear that keeps the majority of people from interacting ...
Look at your own networks .. how many people who initially connect, never again say a word. The ones that do speak, have the confidence and conviction that their point of view, and thought-through opinion has some value ... but, the majority do not speak ..... because of insecurity and fear, or yes, because all they want to do is gather, not share ... But being unsure, or being fearful of being questioned (and maybe proved wrong), stifles the voice of the majority ....

... so, I think that brands who give "the majority" the ability to be themselves, and be OK with that, and allow individual expression and involvement without the fear of criticism, will be the ones that thrive ...... Is that perhaps why Apple is so successful (your recent brand gaps) ... are they delivering a personal feeling of status that is not dependent on others to verify ... )

Whooooaah .... I'm talking myself into a principle here ...

.. as always Cristian, your thoughts inspire thinking and conversation ... thank you.
written on 01-Feb-2010
cristian.saracco says:
Hi Ed, Lupa & Gabriel!

Thanks for your messages ;)

Lupa: Google translator is "almost" bad... however it gives you good ideas of what is written in other languages :) ... People is more interested in other things... however, conversations are part of our lifes since Adam & Eve... The issue would be that in one mement in time we forgot that...

As Gabriel said... Easy to say, difficult to implement... I think that perhaps (only perhaps) one of the reasons is that it's more simple to talk to the ether than to mantain a good conversation... And it seems to be that it's more easy to denmostrate status by showing belongings than showing ourselves (Hmmmm... the dilemma between to have and to be ;))

Ed: Interaction is dialogue... but it would be as when we are with friends... few are talking, some are participating and give some inputs to the conversation... and others are just hearing... (I wrote a paper -70 pages... for God sake... which is a bahavioral study of Brand 3.0)... Please, see the actor ( below ;)

BTW... I loved what you wrote "... so, I think that brands who give "the majority" the ability to be themselves, and be OK with that, and allow individual expression and involvement without the fear of criticism, will be the ones that thrive ...... Is that perhaps why Apple is so successful (your recent brand gaps) ... are they delivering a personal feeling of status that is not dependent on others to verify ... )"

Cheers!

Ps.: This week, Chapter II | Dr. Utterson & the Generation G
written on 01-Feb-2010
Ed says:
This is a great visual Cristian. Thanks. You know and understand the same things about involvement.

But - here's a question - where are those people, who are only "hearing" in one community, actually interacting and having dialogue? ... and who with? ... Is it in communities where they have more passion, confidence and security? ... or where they are just more interested in the content - ... but wait - they may just listen there also ..... I think feeling like and experiencing that they have the freedom to let their voice be heard without reprisal, will allow confidence and courage to emerge ... and thus involvement.

So, could it be, that recognition will no longer be realized through the feelings that were associated with the status of owning material things at all, but will become more about the feelings associated with belonging to, and involvement in a community where they are not frightened to voice what they think and why?

I'm sure you've researched this and I'd be interested in the thoughts you have ... or the others here

I think I will continue to enjoy Dr. Utterson ... ))
written on 01-Feb-2010
cristian.saracco says:
Thanks Ed

I am able to answer part of your question... When I saw (under the microscope) Brand 3.0, I saw each event under different metrics:
- Relative well-being and its relation with authority
- Communication bahaviors and its relation with significancy and evidence levels

The first metrics (well-being vs. authority) helped me to understand the reason why a person belongs to the tribe (I discovered that most of us share value agenda)

The second one helped me to understand the different levels of participations... To make this simple... After posting this blogpost, there were 11 direct comments... However, I received another 10 E-Mails with private comments (BTW... all of them so good ), Brand 3.0 had more than 400 visits... More than 40 people re-twitted the post... A good number said that they liked it in Facebook... The issue here is that, if you don't like what you read/see/... in certain social network, it doesn't matter how much effort is done, you are not going to come back to visit that site... So, in certain way we are leaving some evidence of what we like and what we don't... (it's a bit more complex... but this is the idea)

And I do agree with you... if we have the freedom to let our voice be heard without reprisal, will allow confidence and courage to emerge ... and thus involvement (Ed dixit )

And yes... it looks like status is becomming more associated whith what we belong to and share than what we own... Stock vs. Flow

And with Dr. Utterson... you never know... He's a lawyer
written on 03-Feb-2010
Ed says:
This is such an interesting area

Re: the status question and what we have discussed here and our past experiences and analysis ....
Do you think, or have evidence that the feelings/emotions that are gained from"status" - that we enjoy - albeit differently - are closely associated with the feelings/emotions of self-fulfillment - that also provide us with enjoyment?

It seems to me that status is more important when competition is a driver, but self-fulfillment is more meaningful when we are in a free, compassionate, supportive state of mind and purpose ... Hmmmm

... some thinking for brands to do ..... yes