By Pete West
The discussion of what makes WOW! brands is not new. You only have to google the name to find 100's of websites all professing to know the answer to what makes that oh so important WOW factor! ... and for a tidy sum of $$$'s they would be willing to share that secret with you!
I decided to split my approach between 2 sets of consumers. A convenience sample of 4 work peers as well as a less known entity, 5 university students here in Calgary.
The results are as follows ..
STUDENT No.1
Our University Student felt very confident that he was the 'anti-brand', until we started to dig a little deeper! It's clear that the 'apperance' of the NISSAN GTR or CHEVROLET Corvette factored above all other concerns. When asked about brands perhaps related to clothing, it was evident that 'value for money' was far greater than any brand logo, with the exception of sports, where a favourite EASTON and BAUER were noted for their 'performance'. Although initially a referal, it was clear that he had validated the choice prior to finally adopting.
STUDENT No.2
Our second University Student was clear to state 2 brands, one within fashion and one within the automotive industry. BUFFALO JEANS have the 'fit' that makes this student (a tall guy) keep coming back .. despite the reliability of the brand for this 'fit' it's clear that if cheaper alternatives were known, this brand may just become a mis-fit, loosing it's WOW! Unlike the Jeans, the SUBARU car is 'technically' advanced, with a clear 'reputation for performance' driven by an 'image' established by years of world class rally competitions. This car is a clear 'aspiration' for our Student, providing the desire image, along with the unquestionable performance to accompany.
STUDENT No.3
This University Student was again hot on the Fashion trail (a common theme with university students it appears!), with REPUBLIC, NUDIE JEANS C0 & UNDERGROUND 'style' clothing. It's clear that the 'purchasing experience' is less important than the 'product' itself. As a result our student will search the internet and shopping mall's to hunt out the best price for his product, with little regard for any 'added value service'. 'Underground Clothing' also gives way to the idea of clothes associated by a broader identity than the specific brand itself .. we will discuss this more!. For cars TOYOTA represents 'reliability', his highest consideration for purchase, although the 'good price value' of TOYOTA was a close second . If reliability and price were ignored and image alone was the criteria used, AUDI would be the winner.
STUDENT No.4
Our fourth University Student has one brand that stands out amongst all others in the world of fashion (again a popular brand arena for students). AMERICAN EAGLE provide 'soft & comfortable' clothing, 'affordable' and 'stylish'. Unlike some of our other Students, this was a self discovery. No visit to a Mall could be complete without a visit to this store, and infact could be the 'only reason' that our student might select one Mall vs. another to shop.
STUDENT No.5
Our final Student provides the perfect mix of 'self discovery' and 'personal recommendation' with the CONVERSE shoe brand. Discovered in her brothers closest the 5yr's and counting sample of the brand that I witnessed during the interview supports our students comments on the importance of 'reliability' and 'comfort'. After noticing that she was eating a SUBWAY sandwich, I couldn't resist to ask how important that brand was to her .. 'not at all' .. 'it's high in sodium, cheap and filling' .. clearly not all brands have a WOW!!
4 WORK COLLEAGUES
I was keen to compare our university students to another group. I selected 4 peers from my workplace and asked them the same questions as our University Students. We did get some notably different insights.
More obviously, each interview was much, much longer, at an average of over 10 minutes. Brands were typically bigger and much more well known, E.G. NIKE, RALPH LAUREN, RED BULL, GREY GOOSE, FORD, IKEA, COCA-COLA and APPLE.
In the interest of keeping this blog direct and to the point, I have captured each WOW! brand recognised below, as well as the 'key justification' offered to support it's WOW! status.
http://www.nike.com/
Key Insight: Legacy, Historical Attachment, Product Quality
Key Insight: Legacy, Historical Attachment, Product Quality
http://www.ralphlauren.com/
Key Insight: Brand differentiation covering all ages and shopping experiences
Key Insight: Brand differentiation covering all ages and shopping experiences
http://www.greygoose.com/
Key Insight: Exquisite, Extreme Luxury, Smooth Consistent Taste
Key Insight: Exquisite, Extreme Luxury, Smooth Consistent Taste
http://www.ford.com/
Key Insight: Rugged, Strong, Traditional
Key Insight: Rugged, Strong, Traditional
http://www.ikea.com/
Key Insight: Ultimate 'Shopping Experience'
Key Insight: Ultimate 'Shopping Experience'
http://www.coca-cola.com/
Key Insight: Admiration of Legacy, Consistency & Brand Expression
Key Insight: Admiration of Legacy, Consistency & Brand Expression
Key Insight: Consistent Innovation (Product & Shopping Experience)
So what have we LEARN'T from the above CONSUMER interactions?
Key Observations;
(i) Our STUDENT consumer group, recognised 2 key categories of WOW! brands. Those that were 'Functional' brands e.g. American Eagle for comfort, Toyota for reliability, Converse for durability and those that were 'Aspirational' e.g. Subaru for performance and Audi for image
(ii) My WORKING PEER group, recognised 3 key categories of WOW! brands. Brands that had 'Tradition, Heritage or Legacy' e.g. Nike, Coca-Cola, Ford. Those that 'Constantly Innovate' e.g. Apple, Ralph Lauren, or provide a unique 'Shopping Experience' e.g. IKEA, Apple and those that can be associated with a 'Extreme Lifestyle Choices' e.g. Grey Goose (Exquisite) or Red Bull (Daring and Fun)
(iii) So what is that all important WOW! factor. Well, if 9 interviews were going to provide this, I would be a very rich man! It's clear that there are some common elements as listed above, and perhaps some by consumer group. I look forward to the discussion over the coming 10 days as others help me to centre in on this question, that's why of course I created this blog!!
(iv) Personal Brand Preference: If I had to choose one of the above mentioned brands it would be 'Red Bull'.
Red Bull has experienced an unpresidented amount of new competition in the energy drinks market, after arguably establishing it globally over the past 20 years. Despite this competition, the brand remains a consumer favourite with a brand value in the range of $2 billion and a slogan that evokes lifestyle in all 'gives you wings!'. A closer look at Red Bull highlights many opportunities for further discussion; Guerilla Marketing Tactic's; Generation Y focus; Mobile Energy Teams; Significant number of university Student employee's, acting as brand ambassador's; Extreme sport sponsorship; Formula 1 Racing; Small number of SKU's; simpliestic Media campaign without celebrity endorsements. This approach is very unique among consumer products, especially those listed above.
I would be very interested on the views of those reading this blog, as to whether Red Bull 'has wings' as a WOW! brand for you!
Links to Interviews of Colleagues **
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l10G6tEM7d0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKYHJ8TfXFU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG5ECou45B0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYTw_oYacZA
** Please note you do need a little patience when viewing. Unfortunately I learn't the hard way not to record video's for U-tube in high definition, especially longer ones!
