Is Love All That Matters ?
By : Gillian Drewett
Why ? Because we live in a systemic world where things exist and function in relation to one another , rather than as independent entities , not unlike the world of human relationships as viewed through the lens of social media .
There is one brand where the relationship status is very simple – you are either of the # Ilovemarmite view or of the # Ihatemarmite view . However , recently a grocery store brand made the relationship status much more complicated . More on that later .
As consumers , each of us has in our minds complex mental networks of associations with respect to different brands . The brand mental network is a rich picture of our unique mix of experiences , associations , impressions , shape , colour and so on . How then , in the complex world of brand desire , does a brand stand out and get chosen ?
Being chosen requires working with a variety of contributing parts : being in mind , having a relationship , having high perceived value , being easy to choose in market . The elements work as a system to build up or break down brand relationships . Emotional connection is enveloped in , and contributes to , creating a mental network of brand association . But , being known and having feelings for a brand doesn ’ t guarantee that your brand will be bought .
There is a lot going on in the mind of someone choosing a brand , all this activity is taking place at warp speed and some of it unconsciously . Any brand in the market needs to at least be considered as “ buyable ” by the consumer . This is the first step . Then it ’ s about the brand standing out and being available in the right kind of way , that is , offering the best value at the moment of choice . We can think of these two as different aspects of saliency : i . Memory salience : tapping into all the experiences and knowledge we already have , all the “ priming ” the brand has done to make it easy to find the right associations at the moment of choice , and ii . Attention salience : relating to all the things the brand can do to swing the decision at the moment of choice .