Monthly Archives: October 2009
My Two Left Boots: A Lesson in Brand Advocacy
This is not so much a tale of an online purchase gone wrong as it is a shout out to a company that seized an opportunity to gain a customer for life.
My wife wanted some Ugg Boots but didn’t want to pay Ugg prices. She found out she could save a load of cash by buying them at UggBoots-Offer.com. Um, you know the old adage, if it sounds to good to be true…? Well, they sent two left boots. In the “returns” section on their site, it states you have pay for returns. To China? They don’t give a return address or phone number on their site, and they have not responded to our many “let’s solve this together” emails. In short, we’re screwed. (Yes, we’ve cancelled the debit card and are actively seeking a right boot – size 7, chocolate, classic tall).
Emotional Connections Come in All Forms. Take Fear, for Example.
Condoms, even if you’re in love, are a pretty functional product category. Check out how Zazoo, a Belgian-based company, employs fear in advertising its brand, reminding us that functional purchases really can be driven by emotion. Revamping a brand so it connects on both an emotional and analytical level with consumers is an important step in revitalizing a faded brand image.
Letting Part of Your Brand Die.
Most brands are proud of their origins and adhere to their founding principles, mission, goals, etc. We get it and we agree. Your past and your roots are important. But if your brand needs revitalization and you cling too tightly to your history, history is exactly what you’ll become.
You can’t keep everything you’ve always had and still be seen in a new light. Chances are there are things about you that used to work but are now holding you back. That’s why brand revitalization is sometimes about the art of sacrifice. Take Hardee’s, for example. They got it exactly right.
Upload Your Imagination
When your brand is down and your competitors are out-muscling you in the marketplace, remember that even though they seem to have it all figured out today, things will be different tomorrow. For your brand to regain relevance, you have to continuously experiment and create new connections to break down barriers with consumers. We’ve found a great example of a movie theater that was revitalized by the company creatively rethinking how it could interact with its audience.