Lever 2000 has been around for years. It’s also backed by one of the biggest CPG companies in the world, Unilever. It makes you wonder, then – why does the brand suck so much? How often do you encounter people who have an emotional attachment to Lever 2000? You probably don’t.
What stuck out to me first in Graham Roberton’s slide deck on Building Beloved Brands was his breakdown of focus and strategic choices dependent on a brand’s position on his “Brand Love Curve” (slides 15 & 16). I feel as if early level marketing conversations, especially in university, tend to centre on how you drive out more people to buy your product (or as Robertson labels it, “The Feet”). More customers 
is obviously important for any brand, but it was interesting to see Robertson visually placing “The Mind” first. It’s tough to really drive out large quantities of shoppers if they don’t think about your brand, if they can’t differentiate who you are, and if they don’t recall your brand. Thus, if you’re a brand which consumers are, by and large, indifferent to, then you need to focus on tapping into “The Mind” and “get consumers to think differently about [the] brand.” In order to do this, a company could do something such as launching something new to gain attention or driving a new position in order to shift consumer thought about the brand.
A few other key points stood out to me from his slide set:
“Build a big idea you can shout from a mountain.” (slide 35)
Why does the idea have to be big? Is Coca-Cola a big idea? Sure, it’s a major brand – but I don’t necessarily see the correlation behind a “big idea” and making a brand beloved. People love Dove Soap, but Dove Soap is not necessarily a big idea. They communicate their brand idea exceptionally well, this is why consumers have connected with them so well. With that being said, crafting a feel good campaign that touches on inner beauty and personal strength isn’t necessarily a “big idea” – but it’s an emotional one that people can relate to.
“Execute with passion. If you don’t love your work, how do you expect your consumer to love the brand?” (slide 44)
I think this is an idea that is becoming increasingly noticed amongst employers, companies, and brands each day. It is exceptionally difficult to communicate a brand passionately and honestly, in a way that consumers would be able to feel, if the brand is managed and pushed out by cold corporate environment where everyone is working for the next dollar, not necessarily because they love the brand. There are, of course, likely exceptions to this rule. However, it’s very important that the philosophies and ideals behind a brand are communicated, exemplified, and valued between the employees managing a brand and the company that employs them. For Dove Soap employees to genuinely craft brand messages related to strength and inner beauty, that must also be a philosophy that is widely recognized within the company as well. This will connect the employees to the brand who will in turn want to connect others with it as well a la WestJet where “everyone is an owner.”
“People don’t really want a quarter-inch drill. They just want a quarter-inch hole.” (slide 36)
This is exceptionally important to remember when managing a company, developing products, and generating a brand image. People aren’t typically buying products simply because they love an inanimate object. They’re buying a product because it suits their needs. People buy drills because they need to drill a hole. People buy toothpaste because they want their teeth to be clean and healthy. Although you can add many layers of personality and connection to a brand, you should never lose sight of the core issue that your product solves for the consumer.
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