Think back to the Tropicana packaging debacle , when a change in the brand ’ s packaging caused an immediate drop in sales . There was no clear path for the elephant to follow . Shoppers who would have instinctively chosen Tropicana failed to recognize their own brand and were forced to think about their purchase .
In reviewing the possible choices some people noticed new , more attractive or cheaper alternatives and their habitual purchase was disrupted . Marketers need to ensure that people can recognize their brand quickly and easily in cluttered environments like web sites or stores . Like recognition , brand salience – the speed with which the brand comes to mind in a specific context – is vitally important to brand choice . Academic and Kantar Millward Brown ’ s own research finds that the brand first thought of is the one most likely to be chosen .
In the absence of a direct prompt like a name , logo or design , people must quickly and easily associate the brand with a contextual cue like a need , situation or social context . Then prior experience must be positive and strongly associated to the brand in people ’ s minds in order to generate an intuitive emotional response stronger than that for other brands .
Motivating The Driver
The elephant can easily get confused by new decisions or experiences . The rider on the other hand can deliberate and make decisions about what the best choice might be best when faced with something new . In many categories the degree of uncertainty about a purchase decision is much higher than for packaged goods and the rider exerts more control over decision making , particularly when buying for the first time .
Uncertainty might be associated with the importance of the decision – which car to buy or which insurance company to choose – or it might be related to the size of the investment – buying a premium brand , no matter how desirable , could be a challenging decision for someone on a limited budget .
Whatever the reason that causes the rider to exert more control , it is moments like
The dominant force shaping our instinctive positive response is prior positive brand experience . But those responses can be amplified or enhanced by other experiences related to the same brand , such as events , advertising and sponsorships . However , to help build a strong response these indirect experiences must deliver an impression that is consonant with prior experience . And , importantly , these experiences must be connected to the brand in people ’ s minds .
these that are critical to brand growth because they represent times when people are open to change and consciously appraise whether they are making the right decision . Because we humans find conscious deliberation to be hard work , the faster we can make a decision the happier we are .
We may not always be rational decision makers – no one can trade-off all the facts in making a specific purchase decision – but humans do like to feel they can justify the decisions they make . Marketers should help people do this by offering easily remembered rationales for purchase .
The specific brand associations that will cause someone to choose a specific brand are many , varying by brand , category and context , but ultimately they ladder up to two meta associations .
The foundation for any successful brand is that people find it meaningful : that it meets their needs and that they have an affinity for it . The more people that like a brand compared to the alternatives the better .
To be chosen , and in particular command a price premium , people must also recognize something different about a brand , a property – functional , emotional or societal – that other brands do not share . The brands that people find to be meaningfully different tend to be chosen more often – they grow faster as salience increases – and they can command a higher price point than competing brands .
What Goes Around Comes Around
The strange thing about our ability to make decisions is that much as people try to separate the elephant and rider , or System 1 and 2 in Kahneman ’ s terminology , the two are inextricably linked . What triggers an intuitive emotional response today likely originates from a past , more deliberative experience . The balance of power fluctuates between the rider and the elephant depending on the intensity of the response and the difficulty of understanding the situation and making a choice .
To ensure their brand is chosen , marketers must amplify the positive associations and feelings that make a brand seem meaningful and different to potential consumers . Even when not consciously considered these associations will help determine the intuitive emotional response to a brand and ensure it is the one chosen .
Nigel Hollis is Chief Global Analyst at Millward Brown , a global market research company . You can commune with him on this or related matters via email at : Nigel . Hollis @ kantarmillwardbrown . com , or follow him on Twitter : @ nigelhollis .