Brands that stand for something

Brands that stand for something relevant are winning consumer loyalty now.  Campaigns that authentically communicate this are visibly the most successful.

Brands that are honest, authentic and stand for something relevant are the most successful.   PR Week has been telling us about a recent campaign from New York that achieved astonishing social media engagement.  140 million people engaged with the Fearless Girl campaign from a business consultancy called State Street.  State Street and its advisers chose a statue of a young woman combating the famous bull statue on Wall Street to serve as the image of the campaign.

Successful

The team built this campaign on the proposition that women-led start ups are under-funded by venture capitalists but consistently deliver excellent ROI.  They communicated this authentically.  They had facts to back it up.  It had a strong visual and was careful in its choice of media both traditional and social. Here’s a brand that stands for something relevant and important.  This issue could have been communicated in a worthy press briefing but that would have been a bit staid.  Instead the team chose imagery was bold and engaging and had a purpose.  This brand stands for something.

Two kinds of campaign

There are two kinds of campaigns going on now:  ones that connect with consumers and ones that don’t.  Interestingly it is some of the lesser known brands like State Street that are visibly the most successful.  A few very experienced consumer brands are not communicating as authentically as these are.

Brands are realising it is not only about brand-building and sales.  Brands that are winning long-term consumer loyalty are those who are trying to relate to people and say something relevant.