Recently, consumers from 14 countries were asked what they thought about 100 global brands. The bottom line? 70% of the brands on the list were deemed irrelevant. In other words, 50,000 consumers said these 70 or so brands could totally disappear and they would not even notice. Ouch.
On the other hand, 20 of the brands on the list were believed to be quite relevant: names like Ikea, Google, Samsung, Microsoft and Unilever. Which brings us to an interesting question––what does a brand have to deliver to be relevant?
The simple answer is a brand must have unrelenting impact on a changing public’s current need states. Note the word “current.” A brand that answers today’s need may do quite well. Then, a few years later, nothing.
For instance, who would have thought in 1985 that Apple, not Sony, would be today’s leader in portable music? Who would have predicted in 1999 that a search engine company would be more influential than a software developer? Who would have believed that bottled water would outsell Coca-Cola? Relevance is a constantly shifting thing. And what is relevant in Dallas, may not be relevant in Dubai or Dublin.
Many products have regional strengths. No longer is making your brand better or cheaper the prime consideration. Ad agencies must challenge their clients to be constantly building relationships with their customers, and to be using Social Media and Market Research to anticipate market sea changes. Because if a brand is not careful, it will find itself in the footnotes instead of in the headlines.
