One example: the major Gap debacle. After years of promoting the classic Gap logo, corporate management underwent a re-branding effort complete with new logo. As a soft launch, the logo on their e-commerce site was nonchalantly replaced. Backlash ensued! Via Gap’s Facebook Fan Page, every comment from housewives to Creative Directors bashed the logo. Apparently, Gap didn’t know that their logo was so iconic! As a result, Gap tried to defend this move, but fans would have nothing of it. They wanted the classic logo back. Gap has now decided to stick with old faithful and save themselves millions in replacing name tags and other collateral—not to mention further public humiliation.

Another example can be found within Proctor & Gamble. In a New York Times article, Marc Pritchard, global marketing and chief branding officer states,”we are at the start of one of the most exciting eras in brand-building history.” P&G, which is the world’s largest marketer by spending and known for extensive product research with branding processes envied the world-over, is taking branding and marketing cues from regular people via social media. For example, commercials that “were almost pulled” by higher-ups, were saved solely by positive comments about the spot in their social media outlets!

Social media is a great way to get your message in front of millions of consumers, but it also is a great way for consumers to get their message across to the brand. In this day and age, even after research, marketers still run the risk of alienating their consumers (Tropicana!). The value of immediate and substantial feedback from your most vocal brand advocates is almost priceless. Social media, though still very  much a buzz word, is beginning to prove that it has a place in legitimate marketing strategy—most of all among premium brands.

Six months ago, this iPad wasn’t a necessity. Now it absolutely is. I have an “extra” device that doesn’t do as much as my iPhone does, but somehow I don’t mind. This is the magic of Apple—their innovation, attention to detail, pioneering the user experience, defining for consumers what they want even before they know they want it—that makes them a premium brand. Retail stores everywhere are struggling, but inside the Apple store, it’s all buzzing. Dozens of people are waiting in line to upgrade or buy, spending hundreds or thousands at a time. Amazing.

By our definition (see What Makes a Brand Premium?), Apple serves as an excellent example of what makes a premium brand. They’re almost never on sale, and I gladly go back, time and again, for more of what they have to offer. The iPad is more expensive than the Kindle, and clearly worth more.

I’m find myself asking, “What’s next, Apple?” I don’t know what’s next, but I’m anxious to find out. And it won’t likely be cheap. Premium I tell you, premium.

I am not alone in my observation. According to Andrew Hampp, writing in a recent edition of Advertising Age, “brands and ad agencies are rediscovering the power of original tunes in advertising campaigns. Over the last decade the trend was to license famous pop songs from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, instead of creating an original branded melody. Now marketers want original music for their messages.”

This makes perfect sense to me, as I’m a custom jingle lover from way back. With a custom jingle crafted solely to sing the praises of a brand, you have the opportunity to ingrain your brand attributes and identity into the minds’ of the masses–in a way that can be both pleasing and entertaining.

Think about it. Who can forget the undeniable charm and sing-along-fun of such jingle gems as Oscar Meyer’s “My Bologna Has a First Name,” or Alka Seltzer’s “Plop Plop Fizz Fizz,” or Folgers “The Best Part of Waking Up?”  These pleasant little ditties are now a part of our collective conscience, instantly remembered and still fun to sing out loud.

Talk about brand recall!

That type of brand-centric popularity is far more of a premium for a brand than simply an association with a well-known song or recording artist.  When you allow the right melody and lyrics to showcase your brand, something very special can happen.

Just ask Oscar Meyer.

As the inventor and marketer of revolutionary Dyson Vacuums, Mr. Dyson has cornered the market on unconventional thinking for a very conventional task–vacuuming carpets and rugs. Mr. Dyson’s fresh, new approach to the technical aspect of dust removal and collection proved that if you can invent a better mousetrap, people will beat a nice, clean path to your door. The sales success Dyson has enjoyed speaks for itself, as does the premium effectiveness of his superior design.

Now Mr. Dyson has trained his engineering curiosity and skill on another household basic–the lowly air-circulating fan. He believes a better solution exists, a premium solution if you will, to more effectively move air and cool a room. His new design doesn’t use blades. Instead it moves air via something called an “air multiplier.” Like his daring vacuum cleaner, the Dyson fan has an unconventional look and unique technological approach. And, also like a Dyson vacuum, his new fan carries a premium price tag.

Time will tell if this distinctive new direction in air movement will be a sales success. But one thing is already very clear:
exciting innovations can happen when a premium approach is applied to even the most mundane objects in our lives.

What am I talking about? Well, unbeknownst to civilians outside the car and bike hobby, the Holy Grail for most die-hard enthusiasts are OEM parts and NOS parts. These acronyms stand for Original Equipment Manufacturer and New Old Stock. When you’re restoring an old Mustang or Honda CB750 or Mini-Trail, the most desirable way to go is as original as possible. So obviously, nothing is more original than parts made by the manufacturer specifically for their machines. That original, “Real McCoy” Ford trim piece or Honda tail light are premium finds. And what use to take weeks or months of prowling swap meets and classified ads are now just a click or two away on eBay auctions, thanks to the wonderful Internet.

What’s my point? It’s that brands which stay true to their original principles of quality, function and performance continue to grow in premium status. So what was once considered just a simple brand name spare part, over time, becomes more and more desirable—more and more premium. And that all solid brands, no matter what their category, should maintain their reputation to rightfully achieve their spot in premium posterity as being a “Real McCoy.”

Take cars, for example. We all know that dozens of options exists that can deliver all the rational benefits: engine size, price range, fuel efficiency, horsepower, and amenities like navigation or premium sound. While I may have many rational reasons for buying a car, the emotional benefits play a huge role in helping me choose one model over another: the look, the way it handles, how safe I feel, etc. Which benefits, though, should be touted in marketing to convince the target audience to buy? Rational benefits might actually have a stronger play in helping sell a premium or luxury car, after realizing that the emotional benefits are obvious. Here’s where consumer context too often gets left out of the mix.

The question marketers ought to ask is this: How does the consumer want to feel about purchasing this product? Our research suggests that certain verticals make big mistakes by telling consumers how they should feel about their brand. A low-interest category like residential electricity, for example, might misfire by trying to differentiate its brand based on emotional benefits, because consumers don’t want to feel loyal to a utility company. Understanding the way your target wants to feel about your brand will help in deciphering which RTBs make their way into your marketing message. Another low-interest category like insurance, however, must lead with emotional benefits if it’s not differentiating on price; the consumers who will pay more for insurance are doing so because of the way they want to feel about their choice: like they’re “in good hands.” While the rational benefits are relevant for insurance, they’re secondary for premium brands of insurance, but primary for low-cost competitors, simply because the consumer context drives different RTBs within this particular category. Marketers of premium brands need to understand that, in order to convince consumers that you’re worth more, having a real understanding of want your target wants to be told is critical to influence purchase.

I know this: My wife doesn’t like it if I tell her, “Don’t be upset,” or “You should be happy about this.” My experience is that consumers don’t like it, either. And I think I’m premium, by the way.

So, while knee-deep in indexing products within the grocery, home, software, and health & beauty categories, I began to wonder what would happen if I indexed the popular sites YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook against each other. Taking information from Mediamark Research & Intelligence® (MRI), Google analytics and other special goodness (we’ll never tell!), our system plotted these guys on a scale of 0 to 100 in what we call “premiumness.”

Not all too shockingly, MySpace came in as the least premium with a score of 5 out of 100, while Facebook ranked at 49, and YouTube at a whopping 96! Among other factors, the interesting details that surface include the knowledge that 49% less information is consumed on MySpace than it’s counterparts. Also, 45% of MySpace users also use Facebook, which, if talking about cream cheese, we’d consider to be a brand loyalty problem.

The data also reveals interesting trends in the buy styles of these media consumers—20% of YouTube users fall into the category of “Buyers of the Best.” This generally denotes that they are brand loyal and tend to be willing to spend that extra dollar to get it. YouTube users also tend to have a higher overall income and have the most loyal following in incomes of $200K+.

While all this data is wonderful, how do we apply it to marketing in the real world? It may not seem too far-fetched from our current assumptions that YouTube is pandemic, Facebook is getting there (if China will let them), and MySpace is just plain sad. However, when structuring a marketing plan for a brand that utilizes these three modes of social media transportation, it is emperical evidence that it does matter which brands advertise where.

For instance, even though my last post indicated that 18–22 year olds are now purchasing more specialty food items, a such brand should not inherently push all their efforts into a MySpace campaign. We learn in this study that not only are MySpace subscribers less loyal to brands, they also aren’t the 18–22 year olds with the cash to spend. Also, they tend to lean toward coupon purchases, which most specialty foods cannot afford to do.

So, while this exercise is not 100% fool-proof—and is done mainly as an illustration (we charge for the real thing!)—it does convey the general idea that not all entities within a category can be premium. There are definite factors determined by the consumer’s perceptions, behaviors and experiences that shape what your brand is. And doesn’t it just make you the least bit curious to find out how premium your brand is?

The other day, Mr. Bossy Boss told me a tale about this Facebook friend calling him and reiterating an interesting conversation he had with “Mr. Boss Man” on Facebook chat. Evidently, “Mr. Boss” had told this friend that he needed money for his cousin but he had been mugged while in the UK. FBfriend replies, “Are you a Nigerian Prince?” The profile hijacker immediately shuts down the chat and unfriends the witty little guy.

Needless to say, Bossy changes his password, and his status to tell everyone about the potential scammer on the loose. Later that night, his wife goes to check his Fbook, and lo and behold … he is not there.

No friends. No profile. No Farmville Animals. Mr. Bossy Boss was Facebook murdered.

Shocking tales like these are occurring more and more within the Facebook realm. Due to its international popularity, Fbook has become the #1 target for spreading viruses, hijacking information and all-around chaotic malarkey! It is an alarming powerhouse in our world today—it has the ability to connect you to anything, but also disconnect you from the world, your fans, and even worse, your consumers—all in the blink of an eye.

Premium brands that don’t engage with newer types of interactive media are like Mr. Bossy Boss and his imposter—someone out there is representing their brand, whether they like or not, and they are taking control. However, if you play the game right, those imposters won’t matter, because, like real-life friends, once you build your relationships, brand advocates will know that you’re not a “Nigerian Prince.” They’ll recognize your brand’s true voice and learn to trust it.

The bottom line to consider is this: Life is scary. And social media is just life happening online. So, learn how to interact effectively with the real world, and you’ll see that being a “victim” online isn’t as easy as it first sounded. Your brand will be able to handle it. Your brand will be better for it.

The video below illustrates just one key component of why it is so hard to do business these days. Basically, the lighter the color of the U.S. of A., the better off we are, the darker, the worse.

Although the “end” date of this downward spiral is a moving target, and one of great debate, if history is any teacher this is a cycle that will turn around. When it does, a generation of Americans who have been forced out of the market for all sorts of creature comforts, or forced to trade down from their preferred brand due to budget constraints, will be ready to spend again.

What should you be doing to build/preserve your premium brand?

• Fish where the fish are today. – Sell where people can buy. Don’t sell where people can’t buy.
• Don’t ignore your legacy customers. – When things turn around, they will be the first to spend again. Do NOT make them feel like you only care about them for their money. Doesn’t work for most relationships, and this is no different.
• Don’t stop promoting. – You have competitors that have cut marketing budgets to preserve margins. This is especially true in public companies that are under intense pressure to hit earnings targets. Take advantage of that to build the perception of your brand as premium in the absence of competition for share of voice.
• Don’t sacrifice your brand quality. – Just because the competition is going down to the 10 oz. box, doesn’t mean you have to. Unless, of course, you REALLY have to. Continue to provide as high a quality product as you can for as long as possible. And when things pick up, you’ll have a reputation of premium quality even through the tough times to fall back on.

Take these principles, apply them, and see what a difference it makes to customer loyalty, brand perception and overall brand equity. Though right now, those valuable assets may seem useless to turn a profit, your brand will be the outlier in the category. These moments of heat are the ones that define your brand’s legacy. Be the bold brand. Be the rebel. Be the premium brand that thrives in tough times, instead of struggling to merely survive.

Last night, while watching my recording of Wednesday’s So You Think You Can Dance (yes, I’m one of those people), the show’s host introduced me to a group called “The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers.” While this seems like a fun name, I was hardly going to believe what a TV show produced by American Idol aficionado Nigel Lythgoe told me. Like any consumer, I had to consider the source.

But as the music began and I saw the opening moments of the performance, there was an immediate sense of pride in making the right decision to stick with the program. The time and effort put into each execution. The attention to detail! They were fantastic. Beyond excellent. They were extraordinary. And I proceeded to go online and watch the YouTube version of the performance below 5 more times that night. And then a few more today.

There were other performers on the show who were great. It’s a dance competition, for heaven’s sake! But these performers stood out because they have created this product, this “brand,” with creativity, something distinguishable, something unique, and, hopefully not to be too trite, something premium. And not every brand can play at this level, but when articulated and executed well, the consumer is hooked. And living up to your claims defines consumer retention.

So, brand managers, before settling with any creative or strategic execution, ask yourself a few things—what is it about your brand that is truly extraordinary? What is it that your product does within its category that is beyond normal? And how can you tell that story in a like fashion? Articulate and demonstrate these assets, and your customers will develop a sense of pride and belief in your brand, as well. And though it may seem basic, it works. Trust us. We at WD create such extraordinary every day.