Dancing with Your Consumers…

or Collaborative Brand Ownership

Do you own your brand?  That is a topic that has come up occasionally with the advent of Web 2.0.  Some people will say “You don’t own your brand.  Your consumer does.”  Or, “Your brand is what your consumers think it is.”  While I agree that consumers play a critical role, I counsel my clients to think in terms of collaborative brand ownership … a dance between consumers and the businesses that serve them.

Traditional Thinking

Traditionally the Brand Manager owned the brand.  It was his job to be the one who manages all the communications, be it advertising, packaging, promotion, or public relations efforts.  And marketers felt a certain pride of ownership because of this activity, spending their days crafting the brand message to present the type of brand that they wanted the public to see. 

Contemporary Thinking

However, Web 2.0 tools have given rise to articles and discussions that state that companies don’t own their brands.  Because of the many conversations happening on the web, many felt that ownership of the brand had shifted to the consumers.  This month, Skittles made a huge shift in its website features in order to highlight the conversations on places like Twitter, Facebook and Wikipedia.  Social media advocates have been all a-twitter about the decision to defer completely to what consumers are saying (I wrote a blog about this on March 5^th).  In effect, Skittles is embracing the consumer whole-heartedly, saying, in effect, “Whatever conversations our consumers are having is way more relevant and interesting than what we ourselves could say.” 

But I would argue that consumers have always owned a brand in the sense that your brand has always been, and will always be, what your consumers think it is.  Your brand occupies a place in their minds, and that is what your brand stands for--whether it is what you intended or not.

Collaborative Thinking

With this truth in mind, I would offer up a case for collaborative brand ownership.  As a company executive or brand manager, you should not give up complete ownership of your brand.  Think of it rather as a dance with your consumer… that brand development and brand expression is a beautifully choreographed dance, a waltz you have with your consumers. 

As a Brand Manager, however, you want to be the one leading.  Both cannot lead.  You can be guided by your consumers, you can pick up cues from your consumers, but in the end, it is the Brand Manager, the corporation, or business entity who must lead the dance.

Shall We Dance?

Consumers can provide input, consumer needs can drive new product developments, and inspire a fervor and enthusiasm for all that the brand offers.  But it is the marketer, the business managers, whose efforts extend the brand and put forth the brand in compelling, profitable ways.  Both parties are critically important in this dance.  It is up to the marketer to put forth a product or service that meets the consumer need.  And it is the consumer who must approve its value by voting with their hard-earned dollars.

So my advice to my clients, whether you are managing a huge, multi-million dollar brand, or whether you are just concerned with your own personal brand, actively manage your brand.   Don’t let anyone else take control of your brand.  If you are in consumer packaged goods, work with your consumers, work with your shareholders, work with your retailers, to grow and develop that brand.  If you are a solo-preneur, talk to your clients, see what their needs are, but express your brand on purpose.  Make thoughtful decisions that manage your brand.  Collaborative brand ownership has always been the case, and with Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 tactics, that collaborative sense of ownership has become even more heightened and more blatant.  Respect that collaboration, and use that collaboration to spur you to further business growth.

At LEGO, there is a group of consumers known as AFOLs (Adult Fan of LEGO).  These are avid LEGO fans who choose LEGO as their creative medium of choice.  Oftentimes, there would be discussions about product offerings.  Some of the AFOLs wanted certain product enhancements to be added or taken away based on their perceptions of what the company should offer.  But the product was traditionally designed primarily for kids for use as a toy…not necessarily as an art form.  The fact that it was their creative medium of choice was not the primary driver.  However, LEGO has since learned how to “dance” with these consumers, developing closer relationships and developing product offerings to more satisfy the needs of those adult fans. One area in particular was selling individual bricks.  AFOLs often had a desire for many bricks of one particular color.  If they were going to create an Egyptian pyramid, they might want many of a sand-colored brick, or if they were going to build a Statue of Liberty, they might want many green copper colored bricks.  The company had to work through lots of manufacturing issues in order to provide bulk brick in a way that was cost-effective.  The collaborative answers will make your businesses even stronger.  Now, if you go into a LEGO retail store, you will see LEGO’s “Pick-a-Brick” wall- a rainbowed wall of bins with individual bricks of various colors that has tremendous visual impact (as well as decent product sales). 

This is a good example of a marketer who blossomed into a greater respect for the opportunities that that collaborative brand ownership provided by working more with the AFOLs to bring certain product opportunities to bear. 

How can you collaborate with your consumers for even greater business growth?