Author and Ogilvy executive Rohit Bhargava dispelled myths and dished out advice about establishing brand authenticity in his keynote speech at the Canadian Marketing Association’s Next conference in Toronto yesterday afternoon.
Bhargava, senior vice-president, strategy and marketing for Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence and the author of Personality Not Included, argued that marketers must engage in honest, authentic communication with consumers to “give people a reason to believe in the brand.”
Bhargava cited Dole as a company that has used such authentic communication to differentiate its bananas from those of other marketers when there is little difference between the products. Dole did it, according to Bhargava, by placing stickers on its bananas that directed consumers to a website where they could see images of the fields where the fruit was picked, and get information on the workers who picked them.
Bhargava also offered an example of inauthentic communication to illustrate his point, noting that comic book sales never fully recovered from DC Comics’ decision to release an issue in which its Superman character is killed off, only to bring the character back in subsequent issues.
Developing an authentic brand image requires companies to take a long-term view of customer relationships, he said.
“The biggest point about authenticity is that it’s not about selling,” Bhargava said. “Selling something once is not as difficult as selling something twice or three times or four times, or over a lifetime.
“You need to think about your customers beyond the short-term sale and the fast profit.”
Authenticity, said Bhargava, is especially critical now that social media makes it possible for companies and consumers to communicate more directly. But he stressed that many of the most common social media marketing tropes are false.
Companies cannot exert complete control over messaging in the social media arena but they must be a part of the messaging by using “accidental spokespeople.” However, the spokespeople must be transparent about being marketers sharing a corporate narrative.
Bhargava also stated that, in social media channels, the lack of conversation about a brand is more detrimental than negative comments.
“The thing you have to worry about isn’t negativity, it’s indifference,” he said.
Following Bhargava’s keynote address, conference attendees broke out into several concurrent sessions. Among these was a panel discussion on behavioural targeting, a presentation by Akin Arikan of Unica about the need for online marketers and direct marketers to work together to develop relationships with individual consumers, and the presentation of the latest Consumerology Report from Bensimon Byrne and the Gandalf Group (“Canadians see light” above).
The afternoon concluded with a conversation between Twist Image president Mitch Joel and musician David Usher, during which Joel quizzed Usher about how social media has changed the music industry landscape.
Usher spoke of how he used his website as a hub of continuous communication with fans, and pointed out that a pre-existing online community has become a prerequisite for a record deal for new artists.
He capped off the session by singing two songs from his upcoming acoustic album.
