3 Kevin Roberts Lovemarks

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Transcript of 3 Kevin Roberts Lovemarks

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KEVIN ROBERTS, CEO WORLDWIDE, SAATCHI & SAATCHI Foreword by A.G. LaAcy, C hairman, Presiden t, and C hief Executive, Procter & Gamble

® powerHouse Books New York, NY

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"I have learned, based on my experience, that everything is dominated by the market. So whenever we are struck with any obstacles or difficulties, 1 always say to myself: 'Listen to the market, listen to the voice of the customer.' That's the fundamental essence of marketing. Always, we have to come back to the market, back to the customer. That is the Toyota way.

"So, whenever we're stuck, we always go back to the basics. Because branding, image, or Lovemarks are determined by the customers, not us . We really cannot determine anything. The customer does that. That is the essence."

Yoshio Ishizaka, Executive Vice President, Member of the Board, Toyota Motor Corporation

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Contents

FOREWORD A.G. LAFLEY

CHAPTER 1: START ME UP Here's what I learned from fi ve great businesses I've worked for: • Always

sllrrollnd you rsel f with Inspiration al Playe rs · Z ig when others zag · Get Ollt

of the office and in to rhe street · Li ve o n th e edge · Nothing is Im possible

CHAPTER 2: TIME CHANGES EVERYTHING T he journey fro m products ro tradema rks, from tradema rks co brands. A q uick

look at why brands are runni ng our of juice as they confront the Attenrio n Economy

CHAPTER 3: EMOTIONAL RESCUE Why I believe emotio nal co nnectio ns ca n transform brands. If YO LI spend your days reviewing data, read every wo rd of th is chapter. Twice.

INS IGHTS: Maurice Levy, Publicis Groupe

CHAPTER 4: ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE Taking brands to rhe next level depends on one fo ur-Icn cr word: L-O-V- E. INS IG HTS: Sea n Firzpatrick, sportsman; Tim Sanders. Yahoo!

CHAPTER 5: GIMME SOME RESPECT Love wi ll change the way we do business, but on ly if it is built o n Respen.

No Respect, no Love. Simple. Let's celebrate what Respect has achieved

CHAPTER 6: LOVE IS IN THE AIR Okay, so how do you creare Loya lry Beyond Reason ? INS IGHTS: Ala n Webber, Fast Company magazine

CHAPTER 7: BEAUTIFUL OBSESSION SO what are Lovemarks? They inspire Loyalty Beyond Reason through thei r

obsession with Mystery, Sensuality, and Inri macy. Here are o ur first ideas about

purr ing rhem inro aer io n. INS IGHTS: Jim Srengel , Procrer & Gamble

CHAPTER 8: ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM Unde rstand how Mystery can transfo rm rela tio nships with consumers. G rea r stories; mythi c characte rs; the past , presem , and future toget her;

drea ms and inspiration. Be insp ired by rhe ideas and actions of great

Mysrery makers. INS IG HTS: Dan Sro rper, Purumayo World Music; Cecilia Dean , Visioflflire magazine; Mauri ce Levy, Public is Groupe;

Sean La nders, a rt ist

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CHAPTER 9: THE HUMAN TOUCH The five senses-sight, hearing, smell , [Quch, tas te-make Lovemarks real in rhe world.

Leading sensualists show how they move liS. INS IG HTS: Dan Srorper, Purumayo

Wo rld Music; Masao Ino ue, Toyma; Alan Webber, Fm! Company magazine

CHAPTER 10: CLOSE TO YOU Intimacy is rhe challenge of our time. l nrimacy demands time and genuine feelin g,

both in very shorr suppl y. See how businesses deep inro Inr imacy ca n create empathy,

commitment, and passion. INSIGHTS: Clare Hamill , Nike Goddess

CHAPTER 11 : ACROSS THE BORDER The Love/ Respect Ax is is your first step. By plerring where YOLI arc roclay, YOLI can

trace where YO LI need to go. Using the Love/ Respect Axis, Kodak shows how it reinvigora ted itself with the yourh marker. INS IGHTS: Eric Lenr , Kodak

CHAPTER 12: I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW The rei nvenrion of research. Xplor ing and power listening-and powerfu l

new proof that Lovemarks are what maner most to co nsumers. INSIGHTS:

Malcolm G ladwell , wrirer; Peter Cooper, QualiQuam Imernational; Jim Stengel ,

Procter & Gamble; Masao Inolle, Toyota; Cla re Hamill , Nike Goddess

CHAPTER 13: I'LL FOLLOW THE SUN An Inspirarional Consumer is precious beyond measure. Saatchi & Saatchi people

share their most inspi ring consumer stories. Tell me yours at www.lovemarks.com

INS IGHTS: Tim Sa nders, Yahoo!; Malcolm Gladwell, writer

CHAPTER 14: ROLLING THUNDER Lovemarks in action. Real li fe client stOries from Olay, Brahma beer, Lexus, C hccrios,

and Tide showing the power of M ys tery, Sensuality. and jmimacy

CHAPTER 15: WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW The role of business is to make the world a berrer place for everyonc. Becoming

a Lovemark has to be the destination of every business. Step up to the challenge.

INS IGHTS: Sandra Dawson, Cambridge Univers ity; Alan Webber, Fast Company magazine; Dr. Arn o Penzias, Nobel Prize winner; Bob Isherwood, Saatchi & Saa tch i

INDEX

FURTHER READING

103

127

145

153

169

185

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216

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Foreword by A.G. Lafley, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive, The Procter & Gamble Company

The best brands consistently win two crucial moments of truth. The first mom ent occurs at the sto re shelf, when a consumer decides whether to buy one brand or another. The second occurs at home, when she uses the brand- and is delighted, or isn't. Brands that win these moments of rruth again and again ea rn a special place in co nsum ers' hea rts and minds; rhe

strongest of these establish a li felo ng bond with co nsumers.

Most of the [,stest-growing P&G brands today Focus intensely on winning these moments of truth. They are in touch with consumers, not as demographics or psychographics, but as peop le- as indi viduals. Fast-growing brands such as C rest, Olay, and Pampers have very emotiona l, aspirational equities. We are lea rnin g that a brand like Crest doesn't sta nd only For toothpaste or toothbrushes, bur For hea lthy smil es-a nd an expanding lineup of branded products and se rvices that ca n help create those smiles .

It's no coi ncidence rhar all of th ese brands are growi ng with the help of Kevin Roberrs and his coll eagues at Saatchi & Saatchi. I've known and have worked closely with Kevin For seven yea rs. His pass ionate belief in building brands consumers love is inspirational , and effective. It is helping reinvent how we at P&G think about creatin g, nurturing, and growing big brands.

T his book will provide even the most experienced marketers with Fresh new ways to think about branding. It provokes readers to think about mystery, sensuality, and intimacy as brand­building tools. It provides practical insights into leveraging the power of emotion, res pect, and love. And it provides proven case studi es that bring the Lovemark concept to liFe.

In short, thi s is an important book for all o f us who care about consumers and th e brands they love.

A.C. L1.Aey, C hai rman , President , and Chid Execurive,

The Procter & Gamble Company

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Chaptet.l

STA,RT ME UP . . :

:~'.i!

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I was born an optimist.

During my childhood in Lancaster I always believed that nothing was impossible. Where bener to find myself than as CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, the Ideas Company that made this belief a founding declaration?

I've been lucky to have been guided by exceptional people who have mentored me. Inspirational Players. People who believe that to dream is as important as to act, and that winners are powered by passion and emotion.

By the time I was ready to enter the world of work I wanted to go somewhere that was top of its class. Somewhere that relied on passion and inspiration as its driving force. Who better to work for than the most inspirational businesswoman of the 60s, Mary Quant?

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Mary opened her famous Lo ndon bourique Bazaar in 19 55 and was swin gi ng-60s London person ified. The miniskirrs, hot-pallts, shin y plasti c rain coats, and painr-box makeup all added up ro rhe Mary Quanr decade. Mary was rhe first person [0 opcrarionalizc rh e

co ncept "less is more." As she sa id:

''A woman is only as young as her knees."

When Bea rl e George Harriso n and model ['arr i Boyd married in 1966, they both dressed head-ro-roe in Quanr.

It wasn't my in credib le cool and fashion sense that landed me the job. it was beca use I had learned French and Spanish at school and Quanr was moving into Europe. fu one does, I started in the lowest of jobs: fus istanr Brand Manager. The business was moving so fast it wasn't long before they promoted my marketing manager and a gaping opportunity opened up right in fronr of me.

. " ... ~

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I Wl'llt to Tony Evans. the boss of the ilHcrna tio nal d ivision . and said .

" I'll do the job for half the salary of the previous guy for the next six months. If you think I'm worth it, then you can pay me what the job deserves."

I Ie said , "Okay, you're on . Do it. "

Working in cosmetics was incredible. Everything happened so fas t. It was try, r.,i l, learn , try .lga in , win. rry again. Every mOlH h. Wt' were f,f{)\ving o ur busi ness at 500 pt'rcent a year wit h a product lifccyclc o f around nine mo nths. That's new products conceived , lau nched , sold , and

d iscoIltinued with in ni ne months!

Fo r Illl' it was like enro ll ing in the University of Branding. I loved every minute. Inn ovation and flln were our passion . \X/e were the fi rst (0 do "makeup (0 make love in": a waterproof kissahk· lipst ick. waterproo f masca ra. We did the first ever makclip for men.

W ith her perfe'ctly o n-brand , super cool haircu t hy Vidal Sassoon, Mary understood as well as anyo ll e I have ever Ill et th at hrands a re aho ut clll ot io n and personality. She also kllew that in til t, l'nd it was what consumers desired tha t would pro pel her business in to the srrarosphere. "T he fundamental s of fas h ion remain the s" me," she wrote in her book, QUI1n1 by QUl1nt:

"Women wear clothes to make them feel good and to feel sexy. Women turn themselves on. Men like to look at women to be turned on-to feel sexy is to k ' al· " now you re lve.

W ht'llt'vn I .11 11 in Illectings and hea r compl ica ted stra tegies fo r getti ng co nsumer an clltio n. I rC ll lt'mbcr M.lfY (~ua nt 's simple heli ef in human desires and pass ions.

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My experience in bringing new products to market landed me my nex t job: G illette's Internat ional

New Products Manage r fo r their fast-g rowin g business in the M iddle East. It was my fi rst taste of the serio us corporate wo rld ; a three-year stay where I first visi ted the Casi no du Liban, Aew Pa n Am 001, and started a love affa ir with G illette razor blades that grows stronger wirh eve ry innova ti on they launch. I'm now a Mach 3 Turbo jun kie. G illerte was the fi rs t step rowards rhe company that would change my life: Procter & Gamble, th e inte rnational multi -bi ll ion-do ll ar co nsu mer goods co mpany. T he people who inve nted brand management.

p&G My rela rionship with P&G sra rred on January 1, 1975-the day I jo ined . W har can I say' I love r &G . I always have.

I found out everything important I know about people, business, and marketing at P&G.

And in amazi ng places li ke Sa na'a, AI Ain , Casablanca, and Fel ixsrowe Ferry where I spent five months selling P&G brands to the trade. I love P&G's scale. I love the ambition of the enterprise. The disciplines invented at P&G have shaped my life. To be a P&G Brand Manager in the 1970s was to be King of the Worl d.

In rhe Midd le East 1 lea rned lessons that have been in valuable to me about how ro connecr

with co nsumers, and how to do it in a place w here mass marketi ng was in its infa ncy.

I learned to love the peo pl e. In Arab co untries you make fr iends fo r life. T he peo pl e were genu ine, emot ional, fa m ily- focused, hospi table. They understood their tradi tions and the past, and rhey really un de rstood that they had a co mp letely differe nt future. It was very excit ing. T here was lirde res istance to the new beca use they d idn't have much of a presen t. They had a past and they had a future.

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I also lea rn eel there that you could make a big difference fas t. The re weren't Western­

style barri ers in place, so new ideas go t to the surface much quicker. There was no burea uc racy to go through , they d idn't have an orga ni zed, data- rich trade to say " NO! ))

And you didn't have corporate HQ on your

tail. When you brought Tide, Ariel, or Pampers in to Oujda , Abha, or Sa lalah it was

trul y li fe-changin g. It didn't improve li ves a

little bit: it improved li ves significa ntl y.

P&G is a company to tally committed to

doing th e right thing. W hy?

Because the principles don 't belong to Procter & Gamble, they belong to the people who work there.

Jo hn Pepper, H e rbert Schmitz, Ron Pea rce, and Fo uad Kurya tim live the principles­and the d rea ms-<:very d ay. No one li ves

these va lues more than current P&G lead e r

A.G. L1Aey.

All these yea rs later I sti ll believe in the

power of those prin ciples I learned at P&G . Totally. C ha rles Decker summed up man y

of the best in his book, Winning with the !'eire 99. Do the right thing. Capitalize o n yo ur mistakes. Winning is everything. Th in k sid eways. Make something happen.

Never try to fool rhe conslim er.

For me the Midd le East was perfect. It was

full of adventure and I could be out th ere in

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the streets and markers. watching. listening, doing, lea rning. Seven yea rs late r, still in love w ith the Middle East, I seized an

o pportuni ty and moved to anothe r grea t co mpany-Pepsi. More fan tasti c opportun i­ties and serious challenges. Like buildin g a

Pepsi p lant in Kathmandu. Like graduat ing

fro m Pepsi's elite negotiat ion schoo l and gettin g "th e Iraq job" on th e strength of it.

Like building seven Pepsi pl ants in Iraq.

Pepsi introduced me to mo rc Inspirat ional

Players like Roger E nrico, Alan Pottasch- th e

fath er of the Pepsi ge neratio n-and a tOugh nut w ith a hea rt of gold , Bob Beeby­Pres ident of PepsiCo Internatio nal.

I beca me President and CEO of Pepsi in Ca nada in 1987 . Another world! In the

M idd le East, Pepsi was N umber O ne; in

Canada it was a different sto ry. We had

been s itting behind Coke for yea rs. If you

want to learn about the power of brands at

street level, th e Pepsi/Coke battl e is as good a place as any I know. In C anada we had the add ed problem of competing aga inst

some of Pepsi's own brands like Diet Pepsi

and Mounta in Dew. So Pepsi itse lf was at risk of slid ing to Number T hree, don',

worry abom N umbe r Two.

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My gut reaction has always been to zig when everyone else zags. The best way for us to avoid becoming Number Three, I figured, was to become Number One!

Lemonade was a reall y big ca rego ry in

Canada. So we boughr th e 7 UP brand.

Ar rh e sa m e time we drove Diet Pepsi hard against Die t Coke, the independent botrlers' network rook up the challenge and stree t

by streer, city by city, province by province,

just poured it on. We passed C oke.

No rhin g is impossible.

Ar rhar tim e, in th e late 1980s, Canada was anxioLl s about the implications of the

Free Trade Agreement with th e United States, and how it was going (0 be rhe en d of all thin gs Ca nadian. I rook th e

completely opposite view. My fee ling was

rha t because Ca nada was small , fast, and flex ible, we could n't lose.

Being on the edge of the United Srates made LI S more powerful , no r less . G reat

rhin gs always co me from the ed ge, as I've had th e chan ce ro di scover pe rso nally.

To inspire our people and panners, we

hired a very bi g and very smart hotel in

Toronto. Everyo ne cam e: the trade, our own peopl e, all our botrl ers, rh e media.

My keynote speech was all about comperirion.

How Pepsi had just beaten C oke, and how, in the sam e way, Canada co uld be

competitive wirh America . About halfway

through my prese ntation , a huge red-and­wh ite Coca-Cola vending machine roll ed

onto th e stage. I ignored it.

As I ended m y speech I reached down behind the podium, picked up a machine

gu n and started blastin g the Coke dispenser.

When you machine-gun a vending machine, it makes

. . a seriOUS nOIse.

We had people di vi ng under tabl es and

heading for the doors. It was in credibl e.

For safery's sake we had invol ved the Royal

Canadian Mounted Police, so we weren't being comple tely irresponsible.

And what happen ed th e next day' The word around th e trad e was unbelievable. The shoot-up was on rhe news, in th e

papers and magazines. It was th e power

of humor and branding at wo rk in very diffe rent tim es . And it rru ly galvanized

our sal es force and our botrle rs.

SlaT! M e Up 17

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Great ideas, like humor, come from the corners of the mind, out on the edge. That's why humor can break up log-jams in both personal relationships and in business.

I have always loved the extreme, and my next move proved it. I went from Canada, a large continent at the (O P of the world, to an extraordin ary country on th e very edge of the Pacific O cean-New Zealand. In 1989 I moved to

Auckland with my family as C hief Operating O ffi cer for Lion Nathan, which was led by Douglas Mye rs (another Inspirat ional Player).

The first time I met with the financial analys ts at Lion Nathan in New Zealand , I walked into the room with a real lion I had borrowed from the zoo. I ca n tell you, from that dayan, no one in the company ever forgot the Lion in Lion Nathan!

O ver the next seven years we transformed Lion Nathan from a large New Zealand brewer to a significant force in the Asia-Pacific beverage industry . And I transformed my life as well.

Having worked o n most conrinen [ 5 and in many, many countries, I found my place in these upside-down islands. Not that J spent all my time there, even then. In the early 1990s I became a huge China fan. I am to this day. 1 spent a lot of time in China for Lion Nathan researching market and investment oppof[uniri es. We built a brand new $ 150 million brewery in Suzhou, the most advanced brewing operation in China. And I gOt to experience the pleasures of local brands of beer. We also moved our As ian HQ from Hong Kong to Shanghai.

My home is New Zealand. We're as close to th e South Pole as you can get and still have running water. The edge gives us a special atti tude. C utt ing edge, lead­ing edge, bleeding edge, the edge of inspiration , on the edge of our seats . It's a place to shake off conventions and worn-out formulas, and shake out ideas. New ideas . The edge is exciting and ri sky and extreme. J love it.

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~ I believe "edge cultures" will have even higher value in this millennium. Great .-+ ::r >< ideas can co me from anywhere, bur most of them turn up on the edge. The places CD

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o be revered as a hothouse fori world-changing creative

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ideas that transform our clients' brands,

businesses and

\ reputations.

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I signed up on the spot. Saatchi & Saatchi gave me the chance to test my bel ief in the power of big ideas and in emotion.

I was de termined to refocus on emotional connections, both within Saatchi & Saatchi and with peo ple eve rywhere. T here was press ure on me to res tructure the business . We're talking 1997, when the management consultancies were still in the ascendancy with th eir sli ce 'n' dice reci pe for dea ling with anything that moved. I was advised to bring in my tru sted guys: my HR guy, my marketing guy, my money guy. Instead I bro ught in nobody and I moved nobody fo r twO yea rs.

My instinct was to go against the prevailing wisdom. I went to Saatchi & Saatchi peo ple and sa id , "Here's our Insp ira tional Dream. We're all goi ng to pull together to stay in the premier league fo r 24 months. After that, we' ll thin k about makin g changes, bringing people in and moving peo ple around. I thin k you can do it, and we're all goi ng to do th is thing together." As it turned out, they could. And we d id .

In my experience, when you go inro most companies what yo u find is good people and bad management. You can turn that around really quickly by starting with an Inspi ra tional Drea m, settin g so me challenges, and getting everybody foc used.

As it wo rked out, to get moving took only one year, not te n, as one wise-guy predi cted .

And in that time we were also able to kick-start three great ideas.

The first was to transform Saatchi & Saatchi from an advertising agency in to an Ideas Company. In fact, the hottest Ideas Company on the planet.

The second was to start deliveri ng not just great performa nce, but Peak Perfo rmance. Saatchi & Saatchi had to be Number One, Two, orThree in the world- preferably Number O ne. We had to be in co ntinuous co ntentio n-and we would do it with inspiration.

And the third was the most exciting of them all. It combined everything I had learned. It was the answer to the critical question:

What comes after brands? 5ran Me Up 21

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For more years than I can remember I have used the

same shampoo: Head & Shoulders. Ridiculous, isn't it?

I mean it 's a shampoo to remove dandruff, which it

does. BlIt I've no hair, let alone dandruff! Still, I love

Head & Shoulders. I won't buy or use anything else.

It's a Lovemark of mine.

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Over the yea rs, I have visited China many times. Saatchi & Saatchi was one of the first businesses to take part in C hina's amazing transformatio n. It has been nothing short of awe-inspiring to watch this enormously complex and ancient nation assim ilate Western business practices in a matter of a few yea rs. And set out to surpass them.

The Chinese have an ancient curse: "May you live in interesting times." Well , my message to China is:

Hold on to your hats, interesting times ahead .

No t only is C hina borrowing from the powerful fi nancial and social models of the West, but they are doing it at a time when those very models are shi ft ing fundamentally.

T he journey from products to trademarks to brands is one of the great stories of the last century. It is a story that has had profound effects on how businesses deal with co nsumers. And how peop le dea l with businesses.

Each step has brought consumers closer to the businesses that produce the goods and services they need. C loser to their need for design, quali ry, price, usability, availabiliry, innovation , and safery.

Each step has:

• turned up the voice of the co nsumer • added weight to what is most difficult to

measure- the intangibles of relationships, brands ... people power

• pulled emotion closer to the center

Interesting times? I love them.

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Products to trademarks In the beginning, products were just, well ... products. One product was pretty much indistingu ishable from another. Get

hit over the head with Jake's club or Fred's

club, th e headache was much the sa me. Trade was kept in the fam ily. Making the

right choi ce was easy.

But people being people, even in such a simpl e trading system , trademarks made an

ea rly entry. There are trademarks on pottery

in Mesopotamia (now Iraq) dating as far

back as 3,000 B.C.

There is a cafe I go to nam ed SPQR. It is named after one of th e most feared and

respected trademarks the world has ever

known. Four letters that to ld you the mighty Roman Empire was at hand.

Over th e centuries, trade increas ingly

stretched past local boundaries and the imponance of trademarks increased. Fine to

trust the local village blacksmith. You could

check out the forge, bite the metal, ask around. But the weird guy bringing in iron

implements from the next village? Not so

easy. So trademarks moved up a notch from simple name-tags to marks of trus t

and reliabi lity.

From a business perspect ive, trademarks play great defense. They offer legal

protection for the un ique qualities of your products and se rvi ces, and declare yo ur

interests. Trademarks defi ne territory. That's how it works when yo u are in

charge of a business .

To consumers, the picture looks somewhat different.

Consumers care about a trademark because

it offers reassurance. "This w ill have the

quality I paid for."

For both sides, businesses and co nsu mers,

trademarks are a sign of continuity in a constandy shifting environment.

As Kate Wilson, a prom inent New Zealand

parent attorn ey, once told me:

"Patents expire, copyrights eventually run their course, but trademarks last foreve r."

Trademarks are not exem pt from change.

SPQR gets thousands of hits on Google, but most of them are not for the Senate

and Peopl e of Rome but for a popul a r

compute r ga me- SPQR: The Empires Darkest Hour'

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The history of trademarks is littered with once-famous narnes (hat have gone generic. Bad news for them, as all the value they have created with co nsumers can be sucked up by juSt about anyone. Band-Aid has become the generic term fo r any bandage that sticks over a small wound. )ell-O and Vaseline have been pushed down the same route. And the process is sti ll happening. In some countries,

unique product names like Rollerblades and Walkman have been accepted as the given and defining names for in-line skates and portab le music players.

Just holding a trademark doesn't guara ntee successful diffe rentiation , but it can be a great sta rt. Over the 20th century so me trademarks have grown inro enduring icons.

The MGM lion first roared in 1928 for the silent movie White Shadows a/the South Seas. Work out the technology on that one! And if you have ever wonde red what it says in the circle that frames the lion, try AI1 Gratia Artis-Art for Art's Sake.

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T he cl assic Coca-Cola bottle was designed in 191 5 and registered as a trademark in 1960. Even the stories around the botrle des ign are great, with lots of mysterious co nnections. Reminds me of th e urban myths around the c1ubbers' energy drink Red Bull. Contains bull se men. Secret weapon the military cann ed. Etcetera, etcetera.

• package in the world ff .. l 'IIned'

he most Pe~ ':M ;:;:;:'~p "., ..• '-'. the great trademarks of

the 20th century. So protective was the co mpany of its high status that when

Stanley Kubrick wanted to use an IBM machine as the rogue computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey, the company pulled out. Kubrick, tongue- in-cheek, named the soft­spoken killer computer by moving one letter back in the alphabet, and creating HAL.

In an average day you can expect to have contact with around 1,500 trademarked products. If you go to the supermarket, rack that up to 35 ,000!

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Everyone wants to trademark their stuff Names and slogans are old hat. Now th e push is to trademark shapes, scents, and so unds. Even colors.

Owens Corning trademarked the very particular PINK® of th eir fiberglass insulation material in the 1980s.

But not all expansionary efforts have been successful. [n June of 2000, H arley-Davidson finally gave up its gutsy six-year effort to trademark the roar of its V-Twi n engine. In its application, the company claimed that the sound of this engin e was "as recognizable to motorcycle enthusiasts as 'The Star Spangled Banner. '"

Harley-Davidso n finally withdrew.

Joanne Bischmann , the co mpany's Vice Pres ident of Marketing, said, "If our CUStomers know the sound cannOt be imitated, that's good enough for me and for H arley-Davidson."

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The id ea of separaring one producr from anorher wirh th e aid of trademarks was a good one. And ir wo rked- for a while. That was until it came up aga inst busi ness' own necrotizingfosciitis) or Resh-earing disease: co mmodi fica tion.

For anyone in business, the rapid cycling of their valued products into generic stuff is a dark and constant fear.

One day YO LI are sini ng 0 11 a premiulll product, enjoying high margins and fighri ng off co nsum ers. The nexr yo ur produ ct is being bottom-loaded on back shelves or dumped inro "Specials" bins.

The warning signs:

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Now we're not just talking about bulk stuff like salt and pork bellies , rice and sugar. Anything can become a commodity, given enough competitive pressure. Consider the once mighty airline industry. No wonder brands were seized on as a way to fight back.

Brands were developed to create differences for products that were in danger of becoming as hard to tell apart as chunks of gravel.

They are also a proven way for compan ies to capture and exploit their innovations. If you are making a big R&D investment you are going to protect it with a patent. But the little ™ or "patent pending" note was never enough. You had to make sure everyone knows the value of what they are getting. Brands do this brilliantly.

When I was working with Procter & Gamble in the 1970s, we were proud that it was P&G that had articulated the concept of brands fi rst. Neil McElroy was a hero. He had understood the potential of the brand idea and codified it in 1931 into the brand-management system that made it a reali ty.

P&G understood that brand disciplines could bring together the legal protection of patents and trademarks with the stuff that has meaning for consumers: consistency, quality, performance, and value.

Commodities got a big hit, right on the nose.

They wou ldn't be back for another round until late in the century.

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Our world of brands As we watch television, open the mail, or go for a stroll, we now live in a world of brands.

My experience on th e street-in th e back offi ces of retailers and ar bottling plants as we battled for Pepsi in the Middle East-gave me the first hints that branding was at the final front ier.

Talking wirh co nsum ers, I could see that as their choices gtew wider, their loyalty to brands that didn't touch them in any perso nal way was shaky.

And there was much morc co mpetition comi ng. Sure the main event was the tussle between us and Coke, but morc and more local and international co mpetit io n was edging in.

The deep insight for me was that many of our markerers saw Peps i as a business of margins. T hi s is the first sure srep towards becoming a commodi ty. I always thought of Pepsi's business as a business of selling case by case. Let me explain.

One of the realities I faced in business was that I didn't have an M.B.A. I hadn't been trained in all the ru les-so it meant I had to focus on the people: they were the ones who did the real day-to-day business and were close to co nsumers.

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Many of my colleagues didn't feel the same way. They believed that busin ess was won through the best plans,

memos, recommendations. and posit io n pape rs. I

beli eved that the co la business was won th ro ugh cases. In dividual cases of Pepsi sold by individual

reta ilers to individual peop le who wa nted to drink it.

Cases are strategic. H erbert Schmitz at P&G to ld me that. He was right. And because I believed this,

and still believe it to this day, I was never in the

office. I'm still not.

Later, when I was working for Lion Nathan and

marketing beer, the fundam ental problems with brands became eve n clea rer. T here is no such thing as bad beer. They're all refreshing, taste great, and

are the world's best socia l lubri cant. Techno logy is

not a barri er. Beer is really srill just a local co rtage industry. Breweries a re ever)"Vhere.

Through the lens of this incredibly competitive business I could see a relentless process that was turning what we truly valued into the commonplace,

To me it was clear that brands were stuck on rhe "_er" words: Bigger, brighter, berter, stronger, faster,

easi er, newer and, the final stake through the heart,

chea per. These are all tables takes, just th e stake any player has to bring to rhe game to earn a seat ar the tab le. I remember seeing a

cover article in The Economist. It declared that 1988 was 'The Year of th e Brand." I

thought, "Yeah, right. But is it the beginn ing

or the end?"

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The Attention Economy Brands had a dream-run pumping the global economy. Maybe they could have survived the pressures of commodification if not for one big and unavoidable fact. By the 1990s it was cl ear that we were living in the Attention Economy. There were thousands of TV channels, movies, radio "ations, newspapers, and magazines. Millions of websites. Billions of phone calls, faxes , and e- mails. And right through all of it, new product laun ches and new improved product-line

extensions and ads struggling ro be heard. Too much information!

People are overwhelmed by the choices they face . Forget the Information Economy. Human

attention has become our principal currency.

"I don't want 500 television channels. I just want the one channel that gives me what I want to see."

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Job Number One fo r any marketer these days is competing for attention . W hoeve r you are. Wherever you arc . And once you've captured that anc nrion , you've got to show

YO LI deserve it.

The process really only has two steps-so why does eve ryo ne find it so hard ' It's all because we obsess over rh e arrention part and forget abo ut why we need that attention in the first place: the relationships.

Emotional co nnections w ith consumers

have to be at the foundation of all our cool marketing moves and innovat ive tactics. V iral marketing. guerrilla marketing. enrcnainmenr marketing, ex peri ence marketing- they ca n all

seize atten tion if they are done right, but once they have it, th ey have nowhere much to put it. No thing to build, nothin g to add to, nothing [Q value or ca re about.

Let the relemarketing debacle be a warnin g. When it was first hot in the 1980s ir was a ragi ng success. You could sell ANYT H ING on the phone. Fasr-forward a decade or so and you looked at a very different picture.

Even if the telemarketers get past our answering machines and caller ID, the rules have changed dramatically. Nowadays we'll hang up rather than order the steak knives.

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Brands are out of juice ... They ca n't stand out in the marketplace, and th ey are strugglin g to connen with people. Here are six reasons why:

1. Brands are worn out from overuse

Michael Eisner of Disney has called the word brand "overused, sterile, and unimaginative." He's right. As the brand manual grows heavier and more detailed , you know you're in trouble. Making sure the Rowers in reception confo rm to the brand guidelines just shows you arc loolcing in the wrong direction. Consumers are

who you should be paying attention to. What matters to them. Otherwise, you're hiding, and you're in trouble.

2. Brands are no longer mysterious

There is a new anti-brand sensibility. There is much more consumer awa reness, morc

consumers who understand how brands wo rk and , morc importantly, how brands are intended ro wo rk on th em! Fo r most brands, there is nowh ere left to hide. The informa­tion age means that brands are part of the public domain. Hidden agendas, subliminal messages, tri cky moves .. .forget it. For most brands, it is a new age of consumer savvy; at the extremes, it's th e atracks of Naomi Kl ein

and the ant i-global gang.

3. Brands can't understand the new consumer

The new consumer is better inform ed , more

criti cal, less loyal, and harder to read. The white suburban housewife who for decades

seemed to buy all th e soa p powder no lon ger exists. She has been joined by a new population

of multi -ge nerational , multi -e thnic, multi ­

national consumers .

4. Brands struggle with good old-fashioned competition

Th e morc brands we invent, rhe less we

notice them as individuals. If you're not Number One o r Two, you might as well forget it. And the greater the number of brands, the thinner the resources promoting th em. You get a treadmill of novel ty, production value, in cremental change,

tacticaJ promotions, and events.

5. Brands have been captured by formula

1 lose patie nce w ith the wanna-be scie nce

of brands. The definitions, th e charts, tables, and diag rams. There are too many people following the sam e rule book. When everybody tries to beat differentiation in the same way, nobody gets anywhere. You get row upon row of wha t I call "brandroids." Formulas can't deal with human emotion. Formu las have no

imagination or empathy.

6. Brands have been smothered by creeping conservatism

The story of brands has gone from daring and inspiration ro ca ution and risk-aversion.

Once the darling of the bold and the brave, brands are relying on the accumulation of

past experi ences rather than the potential o f future ones. Headstones are replacing stepping srones. If the antics of R.jchard Branson ca use

a riot (and th ey do), how bland and boring has everyon e else becom e?

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Bra nds can no longer cope wirh so me of rhe mosr importanr challenges we face (Oday as markerers, producers, traders, and busi ness peopl e.

• How to cur rh rough rhe informat ion duner • How to con nect meaningfully with consumers

How (Q create integrated experiences

• How to co nvince people to co mmi t for li fe • How to make the world a bener place

T here is only one way (0 thrive as marketers in the Atten tion Eco nomy:

Stop racing after every new fad and focus on making consistent , emotional connections with consumers . If you stand for nothing , you fall for everything .

The journey is over The great journ ey from products (0 trademarks and from trademarks (0 brands is over. Trade marks are rablesrakes. Brands are tabl estakes. Bo th are useful in the quest fo r differentia­ti on and vital to survival, but they're not winning ga me-breakers.

Today the stakes have reached a new high. T he social fabr ic is spread more thinly than ever. People are looking for new, emotional co nnections. T hey are looking fo r what they can love. T hey are insisting on more cho ice, rhey have higher expectations, and they need emotional pull (0 help them make decisions. And, fi nally, they want more ways (0 connect with everything in thei r lives-includ ing brands.

Businesses have always assumed that people see the brands the same way they do . This is why they can get it SO-O-O-O wrong.

But so me special brands don't seem (0 make that mistake. They are so fa r out in fron t that they seem (0 have evolved in(O something else. T hey are what inspired Saatchi & Saarchi (0 develop Lovemarks as the furure beyond brands.

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In my 35 years in busin ess I have always trusred my emotions . I have always believed that by touching emotion you get the best people to work with you, th e best cl ients to inspire you, the bes t partners, and the most devoted customers.

The last ten years have seen emotion dominate the bestseller-and the not-so-bestsel ler- lists. Click your way through Amazo n.com for tirles and see what I mean. Art and Emotion, Body and Emotion , Culture and Emotion, Reason and Emotion. Sounds fin e. Then there's Emotion and Spirit, Emotion and Focus, Emotion and Religion, Emotion and Insanity, Emotion in Organizations. There's more where that came from.

People everywhere are w; Emotion has become a legitimate subject for serious research. On

what was obvious to everyone who cared to look.

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In the business world there's Emotional Branding, Emotional Markets, Emotional Capital, Emotional Value and, of course, Emotional Marketing from my friends at Hallmark.

It goes deeper. How about Emotional Intelligence, Emotional Genius, Emotional Unavailability. And then, a little further out in the galaxy, Emotional Yoga, Emotional Cleansing, Emotional Alchemy, Emotional Claustrophobia, and Emotional Control.

And two books no self-respecting business should be without; th e helpfu l Emotionally Weird, and the essential Emotional Vampires.

ting to embrace emotion. scientists got into emotion it didn't take them long to prove

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"Father and Son" Cat Stevens was a mega-star of the 1970s with such hits (0 his credit as "Moonshadow," "Morn ing Has Broken," and "Peace Train. " He co nverted (0 Islam in I 977, changed his name (0 Yusuf Islam, and pre((y well left the music bus iness. Since then, he has devoted his time (0

charities and education in support of his religion. He is very cautiolls about (he lise of his music. Man y of his songs deal with th emes from his life before conversion, and he no longe r wants (0 be associated with them. Li((l e surprise then that he had never allowed an y of hi s songs (Q be Ll sed in TV commercials.

When creatives at Saatchi & Saatchi Welli ng(On gOt it inra their heads to use a Cat Stevens song for a commercial, the first reaction was "find another song." Trouble was, the so ng th ey

wanted was abso lutely perfect: "Father and Son."

I was once like you are now,

and I know that it's not easy

to be calm when you've found something going on.

But take your time, think a lot,

why, think of everything you've got.

For you will still be here tomorrow,

but your dreams may not.

Our people didn't just want th e song as th e background music. The song was the sra ry. An emotiona l portra it of a most special relationship-a father and son grow in g rogeth er from birth ra death.

The client was Telecom N ew Zea land. Like many o ther telecommunications companies, rhey had never been big on emotion. They are und er intense pressure every minute of every day. The whole indust ry lives in a waking nightmare of margin -s hav ing, competit ion, un ex pected technology shifts, ri sing consumer expectations. They usuall y don't see people's

feelings as a pr iority.

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But Telecom New Zealand had been a monopoly and was now confronting competition with energy. They were adventurous and up for a challenge. T hey knew that when you act like a commodity, you get treated like one-that old vicious cycle. Forget about being loved; it's rough ro get even a little respect on the street.

That might have been the end of the sto ry in so me places, but our people took it as a perso nal challenge. They truly believe that Nothing is Impossible. A passionate plea to Yusuf was drafted . Sure, permission had never been given before, but that was then. Our people pinned their hearts to their letter and waited. Weeks later as the team sat in the mixing room despairing of even getting a response, they heard the rustle of a fax. 1t was ftom Yusuf He had responded to the visuals accompanying his words and the emotional truth of th e story. He had written one word on the fax they had sent him pleading to use his song: "Yes."

Since joining Saatchi & Saatchi, I have given hundreds of presentations around the globe. "Father and Son" is the spot I always play at the end.

In Dubai, Denmark, Los Angeles, London , New York, Sao Paulo, Barcelona, and Sydney, the response never varies. People feel this spot is talking to them personally. T he Story makes a deep emotional connection.

Our client wanted a more connected counrry­Cat Stevens sa ng the song. His Greatest Hits album moved into the Top 10 CD sales in New Zealand a month after launch.

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Human beings are powered by emotion, not by reason 5wdy afte r study has proven that if rhe emotio n centers of o ur brain are damaged in so me way,

we do n't just lose th e ability to laugh or cry, we lose th e ability to make decisions. Alarm bells for eve ry business right there.

T he neurologist Do nald Caine puts it brilliantly:

"The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action while reason leads to conclusions."

You don't have to be a brain surgeon to get that. The rea li ty we face docs not require mastery of arca ne terminology, and it's not about evaluating

competing th eori es about how rhe mind works o r how it is structu red.

T he brain is more complex, more densely connected, and mOfC mysterious than any o f LI S can dream. That's as much as we have to know. Emotio n and reason are intertwined , bur when they arc in conAic(, emotion wins

every time. W ithout the Aeeting and intense stim ulus of emotio n, rational rhouglu winds down and disi ntegrates.

Maurice Levy, C hai rman of Publicis Groupe, owners of Saatchi & Saatchi, elaborates :

"Consumers who make decisions based purely on facts represent a very small minority of the world's population . They are people without feelings, or perhaps people who put their heart and emotions in the fridge when they are leaving home in the morning, and only take them out again when they go back home in the evening. Although even for these people, there is always some product or service they buy based on impulse or emotion.

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"The vast majority of the population, however, consumes and shops with their mind and their heart, or if you prefer, their emotions. They look for a rational reason: what the product does and why it is a superior choice. And they take an emotional decision: I like it, I prefer it, I feel good about it.

"The way this works is very subtle. Most of the time, before seeing something in detail, you have a sense of what it is. Before understanding, you feel. And making people feel good about a brand, getting a positive emotion, is key. This is what makes the difference.

"To get emotion back into business in this period when cost-cutting is king is very difficult. People making decisions are tense, under pressure, and rationality is reassuring. But emotions are more rewarding, both in the short and long-term."

[Maurie.: Levy, Chairman , Publicis Groupe, ParisI

Writer Vi rginia Postrel has a great example of how igno ring the real emotions of co nsumers ca n point us in the wro ng dircnion. About ten yea rs ago, many wo men's fashion retailers had the sa me dumb idea: it's possi ble to rationally predict what women wa nt. The demographics sa id that wo men were gerring older and bigger and so perfect logic ki cked in. Older, bigger wo men are not go ing to be interested in yourh. novelty, or sex appeal. Bad call. Turned ou t that women didn't feel o lder and bigger at all. They rushed to buy slinky slip-dresses and curvy, mini skirted bus iness suits. T he logicians tanked and th e few reta ilers who backed a genuin e understandin g of th e hum an hea rt did great.

W hat is importa nt is to engage with the new realities of emotion. We must work out what they mean to us. How they affect behavior. And then do someth ing different because of it. Marketing people talk about emorion. They present charts and di agrams. even raise their voices and wave thei r arms, but fundamental ly they treat emotion as . . . out-there, felt by so meone else and able to be manipulated.

Analyzing orher people's emotions and refusing to acknowledge ou r own dumps us in the same o ld ru t. W hat a waste. T he emotions are a serio lls o pportuni ry to get in rouch with co nsumers.

And best of all , emotion is an unlimited resource. It's always there-waiting to be tapped with new ideas, new inspiratio ns, new experiences.

So what kind of emotions are we talking about? Everyo ne has a different list, but people tend to agree on [wo points: first, emotions can be separated in to primary and secondary emotionsi and seco nd , most of ou r emotions are negative. Emotions can inspire and excite us. They ca n also fr ighten and threa ten us. It's survival. Our emotions tell us what's important, and in o ur ancient past it was smart to pay the most attention to the bad stuff.

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Chapter 4

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My late father-in-law Don Honeywill played the famous sax intra on the Beatles

song "All You Need Is Love." It's a song that means a lot to me and my

family. Intimacy in action.

Plato gOt it right: "At the touch of Love, everyo ne beco mes a poet. " Or a cynic. I'm no cynic. At

Saatchi & Saatchi our pursuit of Love and what it could mean for business has been focused and intense.

People love people. We love experiences, we love teams, we love events, we love abstract ideas like our country or

town or cause. We love art. And we love sru ff The objects we make or buy or exchange. The objects rhar defin e

who we are and where we sta nd.

We are consumers by nature. For vi rtually all the world's c irizens, our possess ions add

mea ning to our li ves. That's why we buy, exchange, give, rreasure,

and possess them.

The things

we have

chosen to

li ve with are nor in ert obj ects.

We wrap o ur imagi­

nat ions around them.

We ex press ourselves through th em. We make

them into what we care about.

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Sean Fitzpatrick played for the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team for 12 years. H e was one of the greatest ca ptains the ga me has known. H e told me what place Love has in a game as hard-fough t as rugby.

"To be in the All Blacks is about loving

what you do. It's about caring for each

other. The team is a family and you

love your family. If you love your

mate you're going to look after

him and you're going to do

anything for him.

"That's the beauty of playing in

a team. You have 15 guys who all

have one goal in mind rather than a

set of individual goals. A collective goal. The aim is to be successful. The

aim is to win and to do everything you can

to make yourselves better players and better

people. At the same time you want to help

your mates be better players and better

people, the same as you would for your

brothers or your sisters."

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Six truths about Love

The First one is a warning. Human beings need Love. Without it they die. Sol itary

people without Love are three to fi ve times more likely to die early! Match this with plummeting

birth rates in many Western countries and major increases in the number of people living

alone, and you've got to say that the wo rl d needs a lot more loving in it.

Next comes a definition. Love means more than liking a lot. We are not ta lking

affection plus. Love is about a profound sense of attachment. Want a really great metaphor'

When resea rchers at Emory University in Atlanta track brain processes through sca ns, they can

see different areas of the brain light up as they are engaged. How about that? We literally light up!

If you want a definition of Love, that's nOt a bad one.

Third, Love is about responding, about delicate, intuitive sensing. Love is always

two-way. When it is not, it cannot live up to the name Love. Some people will always be better

at it than othe rs, but we all have the capac ity and need for Love.

Our Fourth truth concerns who and what we love . Everyone knows about the glories of

romantic Love, but let's not forget the Love between couples who have been tOgether for years,

Love within famil ies, the Love of close friends-very different relationships that join the

experiences we love. For me, it's Bruce Sp ringsteen concens, Saturday nights, and a cold Becks

beer. Whatever [urns you on.

Fifth, Love takes time. The skill of respo nding to the emo tional rhythms of Love takes an

in vestment of years. Love has hisro ry. Love gives us meaning and makes us who we arc.

Finally, and perhaps most profoundl y, Love cannot be commanded or demanded. It can

on ly be given. Like power, you get Love by giving it.

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" I don't think there is anything higher than Love. I mean, I'm not sure what could possibly come after Love because Love is so expansive. I had such a difficult time coming up with a definition for Love in my book, but the way I define Love is the selfless promotion of the growth of the other.

So to me, if you selflessly promote the growth of your customers and your colleagues, that's true Love. I don't know what more you could do for someone. "

[Ti m Sanders. Chief Solutions Officer. Yahoo! . and aUl hor of 1-OI'l' Is the Killer rlpp]

, , Whenever someone asks me to define Love, I usually think for a minute, then I spin around and pin the guy's arm behind his back. Now who's asking the questions? , ,

lJack Handey, comicl

All You Need Is Love ).1

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/II may not be a smart man, but I do know what Love is./I

IForrest Gump]

''Love: Two minds without a single thought."

[Philip Borry[

"Ah, good 01' trustworthy beer. My Love for you will never die."

IH >rner Simpsoni

"When Love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece."

"Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile."

IFranklin P Jones)

"People think Love is an emotion.

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"I Love Mickey Mouse more than any woman I've ever known."

/Y u • C y

"Love keeps the cold out

better than a cloak./I [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]

"Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking outward together

in the same direction:' /I Love is a canvas pattern furnished by Nature,

and embroidered by imagination:' [Voltaire]

/I Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer

to the problem of human existence." [Erich Fromm]

"I'm in favor of Love as long as it doesn't happen when the Simpsons are on TV./I

[Anilo-oge 6J

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When I fi rs t suggested that Love was the way to transform business, gtown CEO s blushed and slid down behind their annual accounts. But I kept at them.

I knew it was Love that was missing. I knew that Love was the only way to ante up the emotional temperature and create the new kinds of relationships brands needed.

I knew that Love was the only way businesses could respond to the rapid shift in control to consumers.

Once we got comfo rtable wi th saying the "L" wo rd, we delved more deeply into understanding its breadth and relevance to business. We wondered about a way to rank brands or anythin g else acco rding to the intensity of Love people felt for them. The really great things would be placed near the top with lesser ones towa rds the bottom.

Conventional wisdom says that brands are taking over people's lives. And that this is a bad thing. But maybe it works the other way. Maybe life is taking over brands.

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relatIonships

a catchphrase?

brands could grow and evolve with richer

and deeper conn s in the same way that people can in ir lives?

the emotion that could make this rmlatiion was Love? ..

built on what?

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Chapter 5

GIMME SOME RESPECT ~~

I . . r , ., .

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II

The Lovemarks of this new century will be the brands and businesses that create genuine emotional connections with the communities and networks they live in. T his means getting up close and personal. And no one is goin g to let you get close enough to touch them unless they respect what you do and who you are.

Love needs Respect right from the start. W ithout it, Love will not last. It will fade like all passio ns and infatuations. Respect is what you need when you are in fo r the long haul.

Respect is one of the founding principles of Lovemarks .

Respect is love in plain clothes."

[Frankie Byrne]

Management loves the idea of Respect. It sounds serious and objective, easily measured and managed . In fact, Respect has been prodded and squeezed so often ovet the las t century that its real power has been undervalued. Respect is the foundation of successful business.

At Saatchi & Saatchi we decided one thing was mandatory from the get-go: No Respect, No Love.

But Respect needs to be reinvigorated. We need to understand what it demands. We need to expand our Respect metrics from fin ancial and production performance to take on the deeper demands Respect makes of us. Respect looks to performance, reputation, and trust as its organizing principles. W ithin each of these principles I believe there is an inspiring code of conduct to lead you fo rward .

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Perform, perform, perform Respect grows out of performance. Perfo rmance at each and every interact ion. Peak performance is the ultimate tablestake of all tablestakes .

Pursue innovation Inn ovation is kaizen, co ntinuous improve ment, for consume rs. Every busi ness roday is ex pected to innovate-a nd to innovate mean ingfully while creating value.

Commit to total commitment Go ing the full distance is the price of Respect. The new active consumer judges you at every encou nter, every touchpoint, and will punish failure by not coming back.

Make it easy The increas ing complexity of many goods and services has raised the stakes . The equation is sim ple. If it's hard to use, it will die. Goodbye VCR. Hello DVD.

Don't hide Peo ple ca n respect you only if they know who yo u are. Remember, in today's Internet environ ment th ere is nowhere YOli cannOt be found . Don't even try.

Jealously guard your reputation Built over a li fet ime. D estroyed in an instant. Consumers today are ruthless if you let them down. So don't.

Get in the lead and stay there To be o ut front can be lonely and unco mfortable, bu t remem ber, the lead husky gets rhe best view.

Tell the truth Front up. Be open. Admit mistakes. Don't cover up, it will get yo u every tim e. Believe in yourself- at t imes like this it may be th e only thing you have. And at times like th is yo ur reputation is your premium defense.

Gimme Some RcspcCl 61

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Nurture integrity The corporate shake-ups of the last few years have put the spotlight back on integrity: the integrity of yo ur people, your products, your services, you r financial statements and, most importantly, your perso nal integrity.

Accept responsibility Take on the biggest respo nsibility of all- to make the world a better place for eve ryone, creati ng self-esteem, wealth, prosperity, jobs, and choices . Quality is the measure by which you exceed expectations. Quality is all about standards. Keep it simple: set high standards and then exceed them . Meet, Beat, Repeat.

Never pull back on service Service is where transactio ns are transformed inro relationships. Where Respect meets Love. It is the first moment of truth.

Deliver great design Attention Economy 101. Competition is hot and getting hotter. I f you're not aesthetically stimulating and functionally effective you just merge inro the crowd. You have to be different, not just act different.

Don't underestimate value Not just real dollar value but the perception of value. Only when people perceive the value they are getting as higher than the cost will they respect the deal you offer. Sam Walton built Wal -Mart, the biggest retail em pire in the world, by a rel entless foclIs on best val ue.

Deserve trust Consumers want to trllst you. They want yo u to remain true to the ideals and asp iratio ns you share with them. Practice what you preach. Never let them down.

Never, ever fail the reliability test Expectatio ns skyrocket: cars always sta rt the first time, the coffee's always hot, the ATM is always open. Today reliabili ty is the door charge for Respect before the show begins.

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It's a rough list. Demanding and uncompromisin g. Don't even dream about Lovemark status unless you can tick off each and every item. The relationship between Respect and Love is deep, compelling, symbiotic. At the risk of repea ting myself:

No Respect, No Love, No Respect, No Love, No Respect, No Love, Period.

Gimlllc Some Rcspec[ 63

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Five tho t mgs o do t omorrow

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66 iovemarb.

Long before I joined Saarchi & Saatchi, I was aware that brands were entering an endgame. Being invited to be CEO of the most exciting advertising agency in the world certainly sharpened my focus. It was all very well knowing the problems with brands, but what was the solution'

How could we inspire brands to evolve to the next level? The usual sruff like organizational change, rejigging structure, and smarter logistics wasn't going to do it.

There had to be something new, something that would create

Loyalty Beyond Reason. My thinking started to crystallize around a line Tide used back in the 1970s. "Tide for cleaning you can Count on." I thought, "Something you could always count on. That would be hugely valuable. That would be Loyalry Beyond Reason."

And the first word that came to me was trust. Many of our clients responded to the idea of trust. The Internet had put trust firmly on the agenda. Trust felt like part of the vocabulary.

I was hot on the trail of something I thought of as Trustmarks when I met Alan Webber, Founding Editor of the business magazine Fast Company. We were at a top-to-top CEO forum at Cambridge University convened by P&G. Here's how Alan remembers it:

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¥"IIC;U was, we

::~:: ~~rt:!~~""rillto sotqj'hing

rttlp.any. ~l'do as ~ edi~~Mt(J' fisten to __ t'4~~ently they turn a phrase or use a construction oflanguage that just sounds like the name of an article waiting to be

wti~J.I:9t ~.~~! and .... ,tIe ~~\; ~ they know it but they haven't yet pop~ it up to the level of importance that it's worth. That's what happened in those round­table conversaciolu lit ~e.

"In my notebooks I just kept cirG~ of the! laagulige that Kevin was _"'''II~ .~ •• ~ ~ about the emotions of maIi<1if.it1.g the nCed to migrate a brand leftIs of em'~t1on~.,..

meant. Yet here was a is tablestakes! Old

go beyond the brand deeper into the .-elation-

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----/ \1)

/ I /'

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My ideas were based on work we had done comparing brands with what we now know were emerging as Lovemarks. The best brands were Trustmarks, we had decided, but the grea t ones were Lovema rks. We charted the differences.

BRAND Qovemark

Information Relatio nship

Recognized by consumers Loved by people

Generic Personal

Presents a narrative C rea tes a Love s[Ory

The promise of quality The to uch of Sensuality

Symbolic Iconic

Defined Infused

Statement Sto ry

Defined attributes Wrapped in Mystery

Values Spirit

Professional Pass io nately creati ve

Advertising agency Ideas company

I said in the article:

''I'm sure that yo u can charge a premium for brands that people love. And I'm also sure that you can only have one Lovemark in any category."

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I was sure rhen. bur now I see I was wrong. Now rhar we have moved more deeply inro Lovemarks we can see rhar rhis was way roo narrow. The sushi shop on the corner of your block ca n be a Lovemark to you. Lovem arks ca n be creared by designers. producers. service people, cities, and natio ns .

• s c

Can consumers make Lovemarks out of two products in the same category? As far as I'm concerned, they can do any­thing they damn well please!

Love Is in the Air 7 1

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72 iovema r~/.I

One of the things that we all learn in our business

careers is that language matters. That has been a hall­

mark of Ftlst ComptlllY. If you describe something or

name something accurately, that coinage becomes not

just a marketable product, it fundamentally changes

the conversation, and people begin to reframe the way

they think and talk to each other. They begin to create

categories in their own business experience they didn't

even know existed.

"I definitely feel that's what our article with Kevin did.

It opened up a whole new category where people could

think about the way their companies perform. It's

interesting that a recent Nobel prize for economics

went to a couple of economists who were, once and for

all, making it an official, acceptable fact that the most

important part of economics is emotional. That emotion

is one of the key elements of economic behavior.

"One of the points Kevin was making in our article-and

obviously it has emerged even more strongly-is that

the way you relate to the market is, in many respects,

making manifest that which is fundamentally intangible.

It's not about the cost per thousand, or the rate, or

what you are charging for this product. It's the way it

feels, the way it represents itself, and then the way it

either does or doesn't live up to those representations.

[Alan \\ 'ehhcr. Founding Editor, Ftw Comp'II~}'l

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hapter 7

BEAUTIFUL OBSESSION

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Lovemarks made immed iate sense. Every person we deal with is an emotional hum an bei ng, and yer business had been rreari ng rhem like numbers. Ta rgets. Sra risrics.

Respecr was so merhing rhar Saarchi & Saa tch i undersrood. Over rhe yea rs we had pur a lor of ri me in ro b uilding our cl iem s' p roducts in ro so me of the most highly res peered bra nds in the wo rld. Now it was time to focus o n what made some b ra nds sta nd o u t fro m the crowd . W hat made so me brands Loved .

W hen it ca me to working ou t what gave Lovemarks their special emotional reso nance, we ca me prerry q uickly W :

Mystery Sensuality Intimacy

T hese didn't so und like rrad itional brand a[(fibu tes. And they captured the new emo ti o nal co nnectio ns we were seeking. As I have a lready rnent io ned , we were convinced from [he sta rt by a ve ry impo rtant idea thar beca me the hearr of Lovemarks.

Lovemarks are not owned by the manufacturers, the producers, the businesses. They are owned by the people who love them.

Fro m there it was easy ro agree that you on ly get ro be a Lovemark when the people who love you tell YOLi so. But JUSt sirring around waiti ng fo r co nsumers to tell you yo u're a Love mark could mea n a ve ry long wa it.

Love is abo ut act ion. It's about creating a mea ni ngful relat io nship. It's a co nsta nr process of keep in g in touch, wo rking with co nsumers, understa ndin g them, spend ing time with them. And this is what insightfu l marketers, empathet ic des igners, and smart peopl e o n th e checko ut and produ crio n lin e do every day.

Now we were ready to crea te our princip les.

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:) Co nsumers ca n smell a fake a m il e off. If yo u're not in Love with your own business, they won't be either.

They need to be brough t in to advising on new product development and working up ideas fo r services. In vo lve th em in everything, but the re is no point in just reAecting back what they have already rold YO LI. Make your own commitment to change. Be creative.

"W ill you still love me tomo rrow'" Loyalty demands consistency. C hange is fin e, but both partners must be fu ll participants.

Lovema rks are infused w ith powerful and evocative sto ries. At thei r best these grow inro mythical ta les. They recall th e great ad ventures of the busi ness, its products and th eir legendary

consumers. Sto rytel ling gives luster by open ing up new meanings, con nections, and feel ings.

Lovcmarks are, by defi nition , top of th eir class for the people who love them. The pass io n for a Lovema rk can be intense. At the fa r end of th e scale peop le will lay down th eir lives for a Lovemark. In fact, nations may well be so me of th e most powerfu l Lovemarks of them all.

Be:llHiful Obsession 75

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We were seeing Lovemarks as highly charged emotional relationships. Whenever we talked Lovemarks we found ourselves referring to people we knew or had heard of.

We asked ourselves:

How do families build up their vast reservoirs of Love? What Love inspires people to become extraordinary? When times are tough what kind of Love do people call on to see them through? What builds Loyalty that goes Beyond Reason?

Lovemarks could not be constrained by the world defined by brands and marketing. Sure th is world was important, bur Lovemarks had to be open to more. Open to the local and to the global. To connect with people as well as services. Places as well as products. The objects peo ple make them­selves as well as what they buy.

Constantly testing our ideas against everyth ing that people love, we agreed that Mystery, Sensual ity, and Intimacy are made up of the fo llowing elements:

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.-...... c -

Commitment Empathy Passion

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Th is was what we needed to generate ideas and insights. We were determined that Lovemarks we re go ing ro be more than an idea that could transform brands and marketing. They had to be a new point of view. A way (0 change how com panies see

themselves and how they feel about con­sumers. And, as importantly, [0 change how co nsumers feel about business.

Lovemarks would become nothing less than the future beyond brands.

We created a test. We decided a brand might be a Lovemark if it matched up to these sta tements:

Lovemarks co nnect companies, their people and their brands Lovemarks inspire Loyalty Beyo nd Reason Lovemarks are owned by the people who love th em

Th is was exciting. If Lovemarks could step up to this level, they would become the ultimate premium-profit generators. Darwin wou ld have got it ri ght off. Fish to lizard. Monkey to man. Brand to Lovemark. An evo lutionary sta irway to heaven.

We also bega n to play with suggestions as to what brands might already fit into our Lovemark framework. After all, this was an idea that had emerged from what a select band of ste llar performers were already doing brilliantly.

78 2 oVE mar~>1

"If something gets to be a billion­dollar brand, there's more going on than just a rational attachment. My feeling is that all the billion-dollar brands occupy a very special place in the heart among some consumers. That would make them Lovemarks."

[J im Stt:!1,!!d, Clob.11 Markcting O lTic..:r, l'roctl'r & Cam hie]

A few jumped out. Not just major global brands, but brands with a stron g emotional connection with co nsum ers. Brands with a

passionate group of people who loved them. Brands inspiring Loyalty Beyo nd Reaso n.

Harley- Davidso n was one. We had all heard about how they had risen from th e dead, creating devoted customers and deli vering outstanding finan cial perfo rmance. Excited, we ran through our Lovemarks characteristics. Harley's score was off th e charts- Mystery, Sensuality, and Intimacy to burn.

The iPod? Fantastic. Coca-Cola? Another hit. Virgin Atlantic? Just ask Ben, my eldest son!

We th en gOt a list of tOP global brands and thought about which ones seemed to us to be Lovemarks. We asked people around Saatchi & Saatchi what they thought, and instantly we found ourselves ca ught up in intense conversatIons.

From these discussions we gathered together the Illost popular suggestions to see how Lovemarks stacked up as a practical idea.

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Even now, looking back, most of the

brands we included o n that ea rly list still look pretty good. In terms of our key elements- Mystery, Sensuali ty, and Intimacy­our top 25 gave us a lot to think abour. Some made it in aJl three areas, so me didn't.

Amazon , Apple, The Body Shop, CNN, Coca-Co la, Disney, Dyson , eBay, Google, Harley-Davidson, Italy, LEGO, Levi 's, McDonald 's, Manchester United, Nelso n Mandela, Nike, Ni ntendo, Nokia, Pampers, Red Cross, Swatch , Toyota, Vespa, Virgin .

One thing that our Lovemark list did confirm: Lovemarks are personal. And they

can be anything- a person, a country, a cat, an organ ization. Lovemarks are the charis­mati c brands that people love and fiercely protect. For keeps. You know them instantly.

"Great brands have always been Lovemarks. What Lovemarks have done is give a structure in which to think about that. But I think as long as there have been brands with emotional attachments and connections and loyalty, there have been Lovemarks.

"One way to think about what a Lovemark might be is to consider how a consumer would feel if you took the brand away. What would the person's reaction be? In our own business I know if you take away the

Pampers that worked exceptionally well for her child, the mother will have a very strong reaction! If you take away a CoverGirilip shade that looks just great with her coloring from a teenager, she will be angry. If you take away Tide with bleach, if you take away Ariel from loyal users, they will be angry. So these are measures of an emotional connec­tion and an attachment to the brand that goes beyond reason."

[Jim S(cngcl, Glob,11 i\larkning Officer, Proc[cr & Cam bid

The next task was to look carefully at

Mystery, Sensuality, & Intimacy,

and develop our ideas.

We were in for a few surprises.

Beautiful Obsess ion 79

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Five things to do tomorrow

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-

ALL AVE TO D D

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"I'll never understand you as long as I live!"

Of everything people say in a long-term loving relationship, that's th e kille r. The one that sums it up.

Great relationships thrive on learning, anti c ipation , and surprise. When you know everything there is to know, there is nothing left to discover. No more wonder, no more opportunities .

No more relat ionships.

/

82 iovemarbA

How many relationships come adrift because the spark goes out? And

how often do experts and counselors prescribe more

Mystery and surprise to re-ignite what has

gone flat?

/

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After giving a sermon 011 the Creation, a nzinister was surprised to hear an elderly parishioller tell him that she believed that the world rested 011 the back of a turtle. 1iJling to let her dowlI lightly, he asked what she thought held the turtle up. Rather puzzled, she replied "Allother turtle, of course. " The millister pushed harder. "Okay theil, so what holds that turtle up?" "Allother turtle," she said. "Alld dOIl't get your hopes up, young man. It's turtles, all the

d " way own.

W hen we were work ing through the essentials of a Lovemark, Mystery was always at th e rop of the list. This may seem counterintuitive. Busin ess peop le often feel that the more numbers they ca n throw at a brand , the more credibi lity sticks. This may get them to tag along with the march of scientifi c progress, but always at the ex pense of Myste ry.

Fortunately, Mystery is a paradox. The more you strip away, the more Mysteries you find. Ask neurologists, cosmologists, biologists, and all the othe r "-ists." They will all tell yo u th e same process goes on to infini ty-j ust like the turtles.

As a child, I found highly detailed explanations numbin g. And all of us at one time or another have fel t the sobering pseudo-reality of nu mbers dump on what seemed to be an exciting idea .

Remember the disappointment when you finally persuaded a friend to show you how a magic tr ick was done? One minute YO LI

believed you had seen the imposs ible. The next, you were irritated to find our how

eas ily you had been fooled. What a bum trade. Magic for trickery.

MOSl [JUSlne~ses c.rE.J

obsessed w th dow'lp ay ny Mystery. They '1re determl'l8d to frame thE' world so I! fits their ow., sy.:>te'll.:> dnd

processes.

All J I-lave ro Do Is Dream 83

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No wonder they find it tough to communicate with anyo ne, including th eir ow n people. They pump out specificatio ns, deta ils, and diagrams. Defin e this benefi t, del ineate that target. Write plans and strategies backed up with statistics. Gives me a headache just thinkin g about it. And it's not going to wo rk. Ir is nor go ing to work in rhe a irline business, the food business. th e clea nin g business, or any other busin ess. How can it? Every major industry player now has exactly rhe sa me data , rhe sa me resea rch suppliers. the sa me techniques. the same processes, and, in many cases, the same people, who've just changed companies but stayed in the industry. As Pete Seeger w rOte in his son g: "T here's a green Oll e and a pink one and a blue o ne and a yel low one, and th ey're all made OU[ of ti cky- tacky and they all look j ust the sa me."

Ac 10'lq as ::)"'0;:) e have 3 ,plY dtlons a'lO ~Ioa s a'ld C!redms, they w II dlw:1y0 JdV8 tv-y ,tpry Who('ver heard of llYO,18

r r!:l\l rn

The great thin g abo U[ M ystery is that it is beyo nd rati onal ity, beyo nd calculation.

But Myste ry is under pressure evcryvvhere. From th e bureaucrats, the inc remental ists, rhe tradit ionalists, th e we've- never-had- it-so -good brigade, the don't- rock-the-boat crew, and of

course, rhe cul t of rhe Village G reen Preservation Society! And it is erod ing befo re o ur eyes. Tak ing acti o n o n Mystery sou nds pa radoxica l, but that is exactly what we mu st do. C reatin g M ystery is a n an.

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Page 86: 3 Kevin Roberts Lovemarks

LI U 111 mod r (,. II I bd L It I ... tht.; Hl (I\e.; ,i(k of 1 ... ([ (·1 ~(Ill\~ Ii.. 111 [ h~t lUll nL.:!) t.;1 ,'" .....

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If you believe in Mystery, clap your hands.

) tn 11(1

lrllltilt

Peter Pan got it right. When Tinkerbell was clocking our because no one believed in her any­more, he asked the children of the world to revive her by clapping. Loudly. It worked. That is what Mystery needs, a surge of faith in its power.

T he power of Mystery. You know it when yo u feel it. Marilyn Monroe had Mystery. Still does. Russell C rowe has got it-as a dangerous skinhead in Romper Stomper to MaxiI1lus to a recl usive mathematical genius.

The cloak of Mystery forces us to find our own meanings, our own sense of what is important in our lives. And it often does it through a revelat ion, a thunderbolt. What the French call a coup de fludre. Everything changes. This is what made The Lord of the Rings, C hanel No.5, and Red Bull into Lovemarks for their devo tees.

Mystery opens up emotion. Mystery adds to the complexity of relation­ships and experiences. It lies In the stories, metaphors, and iconic characters that give a relationship its texture. Mystery is a key part of creating Loyalty Beyond Reason.

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A visionary at Visionaire Cecil ia Dean understa nds the el usive charm of Mystery. With her pa rtners Stephen Gan and James Kaliardos, she co-founded in 199 1 the extraordin ary publ icatio n Visiontlire. Issuing out of New Yo rk three or fo ur tim es a year, Visionaire is a testament to th e powe r of Mystery.

It has an excl usive rep mation. Complete editorial integrity. A hi p add ress in SoHo. Wo rld­bea ting image- makers. An unl ikel y marriage of fashion and co ntempora ry art. All insp ired by a new theme for each issue: Aipbooks, Louis Vuirron satch els, injection-mo lded plasti c cases, vi ntage novels. Each issue re inve nts the co ncep t of Visioflnire and plays w ith the infi nite

possibil iti es of fo rm and co ntent.

I see copies of Visionaire o n the tables of Saatchi & Saa tchi creatives throughout the world. Why' Beca use it gives them a heady mix of soph istication and Mystery, inspiring ideas wrapped into a surprisi ng and sensual objecr.

86 iovemarkh

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~ 1.' t1iinkmysterY" i; "really, ..eally imp'!:~!flf.t~~e invite very few people into the back offices of V~One of the biggest 'do~nfalls ,ofHollywood is that celebrities no longer have any' mystery. i-It~~g<1il1 your dirry laundry in every tabloid is not what I call deeply mysterious. Unfortunately most of these celebrities a just like you and me. Who wants always to be reminded of that?

"Stephen Said, 'Uets /inC! mousand of romance novels ' l\iid diat reatly started driving the issue. There was this idea that ch book was going to be different and that the~ all had to be hardcover novels, hopefully with a Love story. Practically every novel has LOve in it anyway, so that was not too hard. And then on top of all these C!ifferent novels, we were gening highly personal work from these great photographers, so it started coming together like that.

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Mystery's high five Great stories ; combining the past , present, and future; tapping into dreams; great myths and icons; and instilling inspiration .

1. Tell your stories

Stories feed Lovemarks . They are how we explain the world to ourselves and give value to the things we love. We all know how a great story at the right moment can change our minds or release that viral "Oh-now-l-gcr-it."

The Maori people of New Zealand talk about surtounding their great treasures with "in teresting talk. " This, th ey believe, increases the marla (standing) of the object. I believe this too. I have seen "interest ing talk" work its magic time after time.

Just before Buck Shelford , an insp irational leader and captain of New Zealand 's All Blacks rugby team, led his players OntO the field to defend the nation's pride, his final words drew on his own Maori heritage. Kia Kaha. Be Strong. For every All Black, no opposition is as intimidating as their own legacy.

The world of information is a tough place to stimulate any change of emotion or action. Lovemarks use sco ries to show why information matters.

That word "content" depresses me. No point of view. No energy. A generic label for generic stuff. Shovel-ware. It's for swo rn-in members of the commodification mafia.

Stories have huge value in business because rhey look in the righr direction. At people. You cannor tell a sto ry without characte rs and emotion and sensory detail. Even the dumbest road-crossing-chicken jokes have it. And they capture us faster than the most elaborately produced annual report.

Q; \'(thy did the chicken cross the road? A: To prove (0 the possum it could aelUall), be done!

88 ~ovemarkA

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A picture may be worth a thousand words, but terrific stories are right up there with them.

So it is no surprise tha t 30-second telev isio n co mmercials can create powerful emot io nal co nnections like nothing else. They ate the most compelling selling tool ever invented.

Peopl e who say that telev isio n ads are a thing o f the past just do n't get it. First. they tho ught that 500 channels would kill o ff TV ads. But no, media buyers juSt picked the channels people watched. Sa me sto ry wi th T iVo and any o ther filtering devices anyone wants to put up.

W hat people hate a re bo ring 3D-second co mmercials. Great 3D-seco nd co mmercials, they love. T hat's why there a re who le TV shows that play nothing but commercials. And why do people love them? Because they tell stories . And people love being told a story.

Annette Simmons is an ex pert in storytelling. She touches the central point precisely: "When you tell a story that touches me, you give me the gift o f human attention- the kind that connects me to you, that touches my hea rt and makes me feel more ali ve."

Ad vertis ing is part of pop culture, like music, T V, movies, celebrity goss ip. The stuff o f the context o f our lives . We talk about great ads in bars, on buses, at wo rk, with our famili es, around the watercooler. We ra rely debate statistics there.

A great story can never be told too often.

JUSt look at the ones that endu re to become myths and legends. W hy' Beca use there is always someone new ready to listen for the first time.

Lexus has always valued sto ries . They may no t use them in advertisin g, but they permeate the Lexus cultu re, and especially the dealerships. And o ften it is the dealers who turn out to be the heroes of grea t sto ries.

My favo rite Lexus sto ry? Imagi ne you're in yo ur Lexus dri vin g to th e hospital with yo ur p regnant wi fe. You know yo u are not going to make it and just then your local Lex us dealer­ship co mes into view. That is exactly what happened to Mark and his wife. They pull ed in and with the help o f the Lex us people delivered the baby. But th e suppOrt didn't Sto p th ere . They loa ned him another ca r, cleaned up his, and generally played proud relati ves . Wh at cou ld Ma rk a nd h is wife do in re turn ' They named their daugh te r [sabella Alex us.

All I Have to Do Is Dream 89

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The James Bond franchise. launched in 1962 with Dr. No. has also got a lot to tell us about long-term success in the multi-billion dollar enterta inment industry. The question has gor to be: W hy is this Englishman who is consrantly pirted aga inst global crime cza rs still with us' Many others have tried to topple him. but even the Terminator was no match for the spiffy British spy.

The reason is simple. The legendary movie magnate Samuel Goldwyn nailed it:

James Bond movies tell a simple sto ry. tel l it well . and tell it every tim e. Lovemarks adapt to new generations of co nsum ers while being very clear about their story.

Then th ere is th e Spanish com pany. Camper. They start with the sto ry of

'-

Majorca. the island in Spain where ~~:::=:::::-__________ _ Ca mper was born in 1976. but they also reach backwards to abso rb the craft and skill of generatio ns of shoemakers long before Ca mper itself was established . By artaching themselves in this way to rrad irion. the co mpany very consciously created an overall Ca mper style and philosop hy of life. and a sto ry of origin and trad it ion.

Paradoxica lly. this solid found ation in the past has pushed them forward to make so me of the hippest shoes around. Shoes where so me styles have a different-sized right foot and left foot. Shoes that may have messages an d poems inscribed into their soles. Shoes with stories on the label s.

Lovemarks know how to mine and treasure their sto ries. They know that stories arc told by people. by individuals. You can't wo rk th em up on a whiteboard in a meeting room and sti ll expecr them to co nnec(.

Where do the real stories come from ? From people. From the people who love what you do. and from the people who may nor love you but care enough to res pond.

G reat brands have always been surrounded by great sto ries. Brands aspiring to be Lovemarks Illllst deve lop inruiri ve listening ski ll s and ways ro harvest stories of dleir co nsumer ex periences.

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2. Use your past, present, and future

Lovemarks are like the best fam ili es~tI"ley co mbin e learning from the pas t with the dynami cs of the present to create great futures. Acknowledging how the past. present, and future are entwin ed was o ne of th e guiding principles of Walt Disney as he built the Disney Corporation out of a short cartoo n about a mouse.

"To all that come to this happy

place: Welcome. Disneyland is

you r land. Here age relives fond

memories of the past, and here

youth may savor tbe challenge

and promise of the future.

Disneyland is dedicated to the

ideals, the dreams, and the

hard focts that have created

America ... with hope that it

wilL be a source of joy a1ld

inspi1'fltioll to the world. "

1\ kllHlri.tl l<l \\.lit ])i'Il\.T .11 till' g,Hl'~ of I )j,lll'\-!.Ul..! ill \I\,lhl-im. Cdilumi,,]

W hen you experience so methin g you feel might be a Lovemark, check out how it acknowledges the past as it heads [0 rhe furure. No connections-no Lovcmark.

I'm not talking about cheap nostalgia, but the unshakeable conviction that the past shapes the present.

Watching businesses shed their history like so much unwanted slUn makes me sad . What a waste.

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Why do great generals study battles from ea rlier tim es? Not to work out troop deployment, that's for sure. They are looking for evidence of how peop le react [Q extreme situat ions. How they react

emotion all y. A nd how they ca n use th ese insights.

It is said that there are 364 days to practice ... and one St. Patrick's Day. This is the Irish spirit that has inspired Cuillness to become a wo rld-fa mous Lovemark. Fueled by the renaissance of Irish culture since the 1980s,

the G uinness brand has wasted no time in staking its claim to the Irish past , present, and future everywhere. Especiall y in Jim O 'Mahony and Stan O ' Keefe's pub, Warners, in Cathedral Square in C hristchurch, New Zealand.

The G uinness Sto rehouse visitor center in Dublin transfo rmed the old St. James' Gate Brewery into the "Home, H eart, and Soul of G uinness Beer. " Set to become a majo r

tourist attract ion , the Srorehouse deeply connects the Guinness brand with Irish nat ional history.

Then, when you add a powerfully emotional link to the 3,000 or so Irish pubs around the world selling the Irish dream, you have what comes close to a religious movement.

92 ~ovEmarkA

T he genius of the Gu inness brand is that it doesn't on ly connect with people in places to whi ch the Irish have emigrated. Guin ness beer was nrst exported to Africa in 1827,

and from this fo undat ion an extraordinary trad ition has grown up. The G uinness brand in Africa speaks of the future as well as the pas t. T he luck of the Irish indeed.

Some co mpanies make the most of their heri tage and st ill can draw it brilliantly into th e present. Take th e German automobi le

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Audi. T he class ic logo embodies th e fa ct that

irs past, present, and future are in extricably

entwin ed. T he fOllr sil ver rings represent th e four companies (Wa nderer, D KW, H orch ,

and Aud i) th at ca me rogether in 1932 ro fo rm the Auro Union that became Audi.

How th en could they res ist becoming th e

official car of the Lord of the Rings trilogy'

Lovemarks know that th eir emotio nal legacy can in spi re pass io n For current proj ects and

inspire Loyalty Beyo nd Reason. Look at C heerios, a great Alll crican Love mark. O ver

the years, our client General M ills has under­stood that, ro milli o ns of Ameri ca n fa milies,

C heerios is mo rc th an JUSt a breakfas t cerea l.

For instance, it can be a target. SOlll e little

boys are taught ro aim with [he help of a

C heerio ring in the bo tto m of th e potty'

The creation of a Lovemark is cumulati ve.

[f YOLI don't understand what you mea n ro the grandparents, it's rough to und erstand

what the nex t ge neration needs. T his is why a Lovemark never freezes in pl ace. If you

can't respond , there is no way you ca n be a Lovemark.

If you want to see the past, present, and future working brilliantly together, look to sport.

W hen I was working o n the book Peak Performance with my colleagues Cli ve G ilson , M ike Pratt, and Ed Weymes from Wai karo

Management School, we found that successful

teams always lionize their past. T he N ew Zealand All Blacks are my own favorite team ,

my pe rsonal Lovemark. They a re o ne o f

the most successful teams in the hisrory of

sport. T he All Blacks have a saying that slims it up: "Preserving your body never

enters your m ind. Preserving your history never leaves it. "

3. Tap into dreams

Dreams create ac tion and actio n inspires

dreams. N ow that's what [ call a virtuous cycle' It all comes down ro this. If we know

what consume rs dream , it can only be because we are trusted and loved.

Brands wasted years fixating on information, boring people rigid with stuff they didn't want to know.

Lovemarks know that th e people who love

them are pass ion ate, emo tional, and often

irratio nal human beings . W hat they are not

are sta tistics o r bullet points in the findin gs

of some nerdy focus group.

It's all about listening. Not just keepin g

your mouth closed between each o f your brilliant statem ents, but really li stening.

Tapping inro drea ms is a powe rful way of showing peo ple that we understand their

d es ires and can transform them into delight. The relationship berween brands and con ­

sumers has bee n irrevocably changed. T he change is a big one. And so are the rewards.

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Maurice Levy, Chairman of Publicis Groupe, sums it up:

"The idea of moving from a brand to a Lovemark means, for me, changing the relationship between the consumer and the brand. This change is from a rational decision to buy a brand to an irrational, passionate decision to be loyal to that brand. And you will find that, as the brand becomes a Lovemark, it will be for­given for its mistakes. Lack of innovation, perhaps not always the best timing or the best price. In a Lovemark the bond between the brand and the consumer is very strong. It has moved from a rational 'I'm buying this because it has me getting this or that' to 'I'm buying this because I really love it.' It is adding to something that we call in France les gratifications psychologiques. It's giving you something that we callies supplements d 'dme-supplementing the soul. Now you can build loyalty with the consumer, which goes far beyond what you can get by being a brand, or a mega-brand. It is a step which is fantastic to take."

And then there are the dreams that inspire businesses. The founding vision of Microsoft was a great o ne:

A computer on every desk and in every home.

Of course, around the late 1990s, their dream had been pretty well realized, so they began looking around for something fresh and new. The proles replaced the visionary. T hey decided on:

Empower people through great software-any time, any place, and on any device.

Gee, that's catchy! Back to the drawing board, guys. But how about this for an emotional and realizable dream'

"I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal , before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

[Presiden t Joh n E Kennedy. , pcct'h to U.S. Congres~, i\by 21. 1961]

Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 , July 20, 1969: Mission accomplished.

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One of the least understood business secrets of our time has to be Uncle Walt's:

"If you can dream it, you can do it."

The class ic drea m-merchants are Harley-Davidson. They revived their fortunes on the brilliant insight that the middl e-aged still want to rock and roll.

They dream that one day they too will "put the map In the trash and ride."

No matter that you are riding to the rul es of the road on Interstate highways, the Harley drea m is as real as the roar. Freedom and the spirit of adventure rul e.

Anita Roddi ck understood the power of dreams. It was her dreams that powered th e pass ions of The Body Shop. From one tiny Outler in Brighton , England in 1976, The Body Shop has grown ro more than 1,900 srores in almost 50 countries.

Anita Roddick's personal philosophy started a business empire fi xed on corporate social responsibility. The Body Shop taps into the dreams of th eir consumers for a better world . The dream of mysterious and exotic ingredients-jojoba oil, bergamor, and cal endula. And the Roddick dreams survived even after she stepped down as CEO. As one of The Body Shop ads so astutely stared:

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4. Nurture your myths and icons

Nothing cuts through everyday clutter better than myths and icon s. Why? Because they are memorabl e and memory is the we llspring of the hea rt. Many grea t Lovema rks are also great Icons.

96 iovemarkJ..

The Sydney Opera House Designed by the grea t Dane, jmn Utzon, its swooping sa ils defi ne Austral ian confidence and Sydney's emotional co nnection with rhe

ocean. The inspi ra tion came out of dividing a small wooden sphere

like an orange. The original model is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (an o ther icon) in New York.

Nike's Swoosh A big tick for one of the most stunning branding campaigns of the 20th century. N ike's Swoosh Design trade mark was designed by Ca ro lyn Davidson in response to Philip Knight's brief that it suggest "movement. " Sure moved a lot of sports gear and changed the face of logo des ign. Across th e Internet , rogue webs ites plot th e "Swooshifi cation" of the world.

In times of crisis and danger the cross and crescent ico ns of rhe International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement seize attentio n

and emotion. They are symbol s of real sa nctuary and rea l aid. Founded in 1863, the Movement has made its ico ns li ve in th e simplest possible way.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent keep the promise they have made to alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found . The cross and the crescent give shape to that inspiring goal.

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Hello Kitty Born out of the Lovemarks idea that "a small gift can bring a big smile to a child ," the famous Japanese cat with no mouth is justly loved by chi ldren- and teens-across the world .

Nelson Mandela A man who has become a metaphor for doing what's right, and holding to you r principles.

Starbucks The medallion logo that signals the smell of fresh coffee around the world. How cool of this Seattle-based business to name themselves after a mythic character from the classic novel Moby Dick.

Smiley face I often use this iconic image. Fro m short-hand squ iggles on the bottom of notes to the su nny yellow badge, the sm il ey face is a simple ray of sunshine.

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C reating iconic characters fo r M&M's was a grea t idea. It propelled them past the found ers Mr. Mars and Mr. Murrie to icon heaven. And when the colors Red and Yellow appoi nted themselves Spokescandies for th e new millenn ium, the Love quotient went through the roof.

M&M's work as icons not only because of their compelling graphic character, but also because of their feisty attitude and style. Their humor and irreverence. The candies with the endearing self-centeredness. Big kids.

Lovemark relat ionships are demanding ones. It's not enough to get it, and then forget it. Ico ns need Love (00. Fam iliarity can eas ily breed indifference. Or worse.

98 iOYEmarb,

Like Lovemarks, icons too must respond to the hopes, fears, and needs of new generations.

The power of many icons co mes from the touch of the person who created them . 1 have hu ge admiration for professional designers, but sometimes th e professional process can blum passion. A great ico n is direct. It is a response (0 a need rather than a step in corpo rate development.

My pick for a fu ture global Lovemark' Toyota's marvellous ca r for the 2 1 st cent ury, the Prius.

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brands can be Lovanarb. out with some of the greatest .. world when I was

researching the book P~ak Pnformanct with

my colleagues.

Our question was, "How do elite organizations sustain Peak Performance?" We might also have asked, ''And why

are these organizations so often Lovemarks?"

Do you want to see Love in ac tion? Go to a local game and watch the faces of the fans when

rinp. the flame, and the medals as wdI as

the sensua1 excitement of the opening events and competitions, the Intimacy of personal achievement, and the passion of thousands of athletes competing-the Olympics is a textbook Lovemark. Any business that aspires to become a Lovemark should have at least one day-long workshop a year developing insights from this mighty sporting event.

Our research into teams that people are passionate about- the Australian cricket team, Fe Bayern Munich, the New York Yankees­revealed the sam e inspirational spiri t that typ ifies great Lovemarks.

As we wtote in Peak Performance: "They experience pass ion, elation , and heartache, and they secure meaning and purpose from their commjonenr to their chosen team and sports code."

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"The reign of the poetical has s~."

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I

II

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Five things to do tomorrow

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When it co mes to the senses, there is one day I will neve r fo rget. M y first visit to th e Middle East in 1972. Beirut. The dazzling light and in credible textures, the chaos of traffi c and people, the brilli ant colo rs and the dark, ripe smells of a street market culture. Yo u could tas te th e a ir.

After a couple of days there I was exhausted by the strange richness o f it all. As someo ne who championed c hange, I still found myself ove rwhelm ed. Like so many before me, I was experiencing culture shock. The cure? Take time out. Let your senses recover. Calm down. Ass imilate. And then get back into it' Later, when I found out that, in English , the word fo r th e "senses" comes fro m the Lat in sentire, "to fee!," it made perfect sense!

The senses are the fast track to human emotions,

Direct, provoca ti ve, im mediate. To ugh to fool. Even to ugher to override. T he senses speak to the mind in the language of emotio ns, not words. Emotions alert us to how impo rtant th e findings of our senses are, not o nly (0 our well-being, but indeed ( 0 our very survival.

All o f our knowledge co mes to us thtough the senses, but they are far more than sophisti cated gatherers o f informatio n. The senses interpret and prioritize. W hen we feel emotion all y connected , we say, "That makes sense."

Lovemarks a re created by emo tional connections with consumers in ways that go beyond rat ional arguments and benefi ts . We need to learn the language o f th e senses to make this happen. But this is tougher than simply doing more-adding fragrance, taste, texture. Pumping up the volume.

In the sensual world , faster, brighter, louder hit the wall real qui ck. People turn off and you lose them. Love marks need Sensuality, but they need it with a hum an touch.

Why do sensualists get such a bad rap?

We should be co mbing the world fo r them.

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The race to embrace the senses O ver the last 20 years, I have watched science and technology accelerate their mastery of the senses . High-tech instruments designed to measure minute effects. Hundreds of publications, patents, and trademarks.

W hat is driving this frenzy of acti vity? The understanding o f how impo rtant the senses are to human decision ­makin g an d to persuasio n. T he misunderstanding of how this relationship wo rks. But the appro aches to date have been [00 narrow, roo analytical, too rational , and (00

damn me tri c.

Lovemarks are the missing link.

There have been huge investments into sensual innovation over the last few decades . The Colonel's secret recipe, the shape of the Coca-Cola bottl e, the scent of a thousand perfum es, home sound-systems to die for, fabrics that mimic every possible natural surface. If you can sense it, they are getting cl ose to being able to make it.

The Economist tells us that th e Ilavor and fra gran ce ind ustri es have global sales acco untin g fo r more th an a third of the $35-billion-a-year food ingredi ents market. And thi s is just the start. The pro mise of biotechnology is virtually untapped.

Jr's a huge market, but still seriously lacking in two areas . Imagination and ideas. W hen I look at what is happenin g in th e Aavor, food , and fragrance industries around the wo rld , l find them trapped in a race down the road to

commodification. They are obsessed by all the sruff that should be treated as tabl estakes : co nsistency, ease of productio n, efficiency. They push deeply into ingredients, shapes, and surfaces, but always to control their power, no t unleash them.

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These indllstries now need to connect with what people feel and want, not simply with what can be delivered. The only breakthroughs will on ly come with and/and. Taste and textllre. Sight and sou nd. Taste and touch . Smell and taste.

Our senses work together, ard whe'l they are stimulated at the same time, the results are unforgettable Ask anyone wro has ~npd the dreaded ASian frUit, durian. Loot<.s Ike an aggressive mango. Smells like a sew€' .

For those who can get past the smell , the taste is supposed to be out of this wo rld. But who ca n get close enough to prove it'

And it is where the senses work together that you find that indefi nable s ixth sense we call intuition. Impossible to measure, it gets di scounted

from every business equation. Bur when yo ur focus is connecting with consumers, intuition matters.

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Making sense of the senses Sight, heating, smell, touch, taste. We're all gifted with a wide array of senses. Conventionally, we have categorized them into the Big Fi ve.

But don't forget our other vital senses, co nstantly mo nitoring our body: Are we warm or cold? Upright. .. or nor? Getting enough oxygen' Putting one foot in front of the other? Are we walking'

The human senses are extraordinari ly refin ed. Apparently we notice if synchroni zation of the senses is off by more than 50 mi croseco nds!

It seems strange that as our lives and experi ences have become more complex, we have tended to downplay our senses rather than pay more attention to their guidance. Yet it is sti ll our senses that kick us into act ion. The smell of smoke putS us on full alert. Fight or fli ght? And the senses can also calm and soothe us. Stroking the smooth skin of a baby. Breathing in a salt-flavored breeze.

The range of our senses is extraordinary. Thank evolution once again. The world co nstantly cha nges . Who won the evo lution game? Hands up. Answer: the ones who respo nded fastest to the widest range of stimulation and information . And they won hands down.

The senses alert us, enflame us, warn us as well as fill our hearts with joy. They have protected and enriched us throughout our evolutionary story.

Without Sensuality our existence wou ld become unbearably bland and ultimately, impossible.

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, " Crayol~, it tur~t o,\t;' are sensualists after my And CraJ>ola has somecimes .lidw~d too, j 0 ,.:')\ heart. T~eir passion is to combine color, low to the spirit o~ tbe time. Like ~hen smell, ')lid the feel of die crayons on the page they replaced the memorable "Blesh'~ into an 'unforgettable ~ensual experience. with the bland- ~ Peath." Or )'dien they Their ~u' cess h is bee ' so great that the decided t6 '; name Indian Red, and went Smidisonianlnstituti\'ln ;rrWashington"rf.c. , /. t~ consumers for suggestiJ ns. Great idea, told their story:' .' ' . • but sadly they ch6se "Chestnut" ahead

/ ,I .• , ' ,I /' , , /- ~£ 'th '4 I th · ·.

/,.!' ~( I' ,.0 e two top runners-up, e tntrtgumg The' sme of Crayola '~rayons £#'es manyaf "" ':aaseball Mitt Brown" ~d the fantastic us on a:itQqstop t6p back to ·childhood. Who . "The Crjly.,"n Formerly Knowii' As (apart from y~e 'U)llversitY rese~che!s) ' , Jndi~.Red."· knows ·that, the sme~l,df crayons rank at ~. ~ -: . dumber 18 J mong the 20 most re~~gnizab!~ , .14 2003, e~la was ad on the retirement smells in the U ired States- with coffee and' r trail y li~kin the public to "save jloshade." peanut bur'ter coming in at n;st ""d second? " 9i eAV~~ oryJ/ie block, one to be ,saved.

, ". I" /'! nal J d' • '"4 nsptratIo onsumer 0 1 on Over thel~t 100 {ears, m.ore than 60'9. ' . 'ry.iwilldare.com exptaine4: ". shades of.<::raY,9la crayon~have been pr (luced.,·. '" Time for. focus: '14 Ju.n'e J 990, the owners 'of "The five colors up for ousting a~e Burn t Crayola, Binp' Yr & Smith, decided w .retire ' "" '5ienna/ Bli~d Blue, Mt}lberry, Teal Blue, sOl1)e oftli.e.older colorsful repla! .,.them • and Magic)l.int. Yes, Magic Mint-what in with brighter, slfar~e'i'one . 'fhis was 'a ~ ~ helI color is •. Magic.Mint? And really, sensible, .rational dec'ision res~ondib.g to the • blizzards aren't blue, so that should auto-changing environme our kids live ilf. TV ,., mati cally disqualifY Blizzard Blue from shows, clothing, toys-vibrant color showcases staying. What will happen (0 scenes of every one . ~ , autumn days if Burnt Sienna is ousted?

I ,I " • t " What about hors; s? Brown-haired people? "Not so fast, " said a band' of,"crayo)a ns. . Bridges, log 'cabins, amber waves of grain? Calling themselves RUMPS (tlie ~w Umber ' None of'these will be possible without and Maize Preservation SO),iety, after two , Burnt Sienna, Raw will not do. trashed tints) , they picketed Crayola HQ. Brown is too RUMPS was joined by another angry group: it. We need B~rnt CRAYON (Committee to Re-establish All I beg of you- help Your Old Norms). Log on to Crav()la"col

Burnt Sienna. Knowing Loyalty Beyond Reason when they saw it, Crayola quickly backed down and re-released the old colors in a special co mmemorative colleC[ion!

Thank you, Jodi. (feel free to pass this on)"

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The senses of the world Our senses remind us who we are-whar feels safe and fam iliar. The texture of both homi ny grits and Molokhiyya, the Arab soup, a re an offense to many palettes. The Japanese fi nd the extravagant arm gestures of Europeans alarming. Sp ices that leave serio us burns on some lips bring on ly a mi ld sweat to a Mumbai curry aficio nado. A quick sea rch of Google shows yo u that the Inuit apparently have distinct words for many different types of snow that would all look the same to me.

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Richard Branson has got to be one of the great sensualists of our time.

The only big place I buy music from is Virgin. (The best "s mall" place is Hea r, in Seattle-try it.) With their in-store headset stations, Virgin was the first to let me listen

to the music I wanted to hear, not th e music so me punk happell ed to be playing.

Virgin Atlantic is a triumph of the senses. From the music room ill the Upper-Class lounge to

the tota lly cool recl ining seats in the cabi n. I have seen grown adults spend 20 minutes playing around with rhe sears, raising and lowering the plush red recliners. And then there are the massages, the facials, the bar.

And as for ill-Aight shoppin g, Virgin goes past rh e spirits, cigs, and perfume formula with a very savvy collection of stuff And how do they group them ' Right, by the senses.

On a clear day you can see fo rever.

Sight is a wonder. Our eyes absorb an incred ibl e amount of information , and they do it fast. Little wo nder thar process ing all this information takes up so mething like two-thirds of our cerebral co rrex.

The fact is that humans think in images, nor words. Try sayi ng "T IGER" to a fr iend and ask her what she saw in her mind 's eye. It won't be the letters T-I-G-E-R, [ can tell you that.

No, she will have seen an image of orange and b lack stripes. T hat is why all memory CO ll rses use images and visual sto ries to help people remember stu ff.

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Putumayo World Music also has a distin cti ve visual style. The bold graphics on all of their C D covers are created by N icola H eindl. In her work, the traditional and the contemporary meet, just as they do in Purumayo's music. Da n Storper explains:

"1 bought a greeting card that Nicola had designed when 1 was in England 12 years ago. By coincidence, a friend of hers, Susan Brynner, was the display director for our retail stores, and she noticed the card on my bulletin board. She mentioned that Nicola was coming over from London and asked if I'd like to meet her. 1 was very interested, particularly because I'd already decided to start a CD series and thought her style would work well. Nicola agreed to create the first covers, and we've developed a long-term exclusive agreement for commercial products since then. We are currently planning a series of products utilizing her artwork, including culturally-themed note cards, travel journals, calendars, and books."

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u . ntverse?',

In 2002, a couple of astronomers from Johns Hopkins University announced a mass ive turn­arou nd. The universe, they announced, was nOt pale turquoise, as they had previously stated . The universe was beige. Karl Glazebrook and Ivan Baldry had been tripped up by a bug in their software, and Karl confessed all. "This is embarrassing but this is science. We are nOt like politicians. If we make mistakes we admit them. That's how science works. "

They may be scientists, but these guys know the power of a good name. They figured "beige" was not going to do it and turned to their colleagues.

The top ten suggestions from other Johns Hopkins as tronomers were:

Cappuccino Cosmico, Cosmic Cream, Astronomer Green, Astronomical Almond, Skyvory, Univeige, Cosmic Latt8, Big-Bang Buff/Blush/Beige, Cosmic Khaki, Primordial Clam Chowder.

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Ground control

Color is a billion-dollar business, and Pantone is out front controlling it. I get to see a lot of designers, and they all share one rool. The Pan tone color range. Although Pantone has now moved over to on-line color matching, th e unmistakable bulky swatches are st ill to be found in shelves, on desks, and next to screens all over the world.

Pan tone writes the new language of co lor. Thousands of colors, sorted, graded, and named. Thousands of colo rs matched around the globe.

I understand co nsistency and clari ty is crucial for manufacturers, but the level of control bothers me. r guess as the range gets more and more minutely differentiated, it beco mes un wieldy an d we are kind of back to where we started.

Pan to ne, like th e folks at th e United States- based Color Marketing Group, are also into th e color predi ction business.

W hen I addressed a Co lor Marketing Group conference, I learn ed that one of the putposes of the Confe rence was to predict the future hot colo rs.

The extended co ncept-to-des ign-to-manufacturing cycle for many manufacturers demands that color choices may have to be made up to three years ahead of marketing.

Who wants to be the sucker who launches the orange car In

a world where blue stripes rule?

What I liked about their process was its weight on gut feeling and intuition. Much of the hard work was done by groups of people gett ing together and shating experiences.

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Sounds good to me Maybe it all started with C hampagne, but there is something abo ut drinks and sound that makes you r mou th water. A water fountain splashing, the coffeemaker bubbling.

Fabio Ferna ndes and his F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi team in Brazil sold a bee r for a client on a sim ple sound- the "tssss" of a cap co ming off a bottle. Beer drinkers simply mouthed "tssss" to

be served a chilled Brahma in any bar.

Of cou rse C hampagne producers have known about this connection for centuri es.

The pop of a Champagne cork is one of the most evocative sounds in the Western world.

Yes, we all know it's not supposed to pop, but who can give up that extravagance and the anticipation'

I love music. No big surprise th ere. I make presentations all around the world , and to get the ideas Aowing I use a song title or lyri c as my inspiration .

Music has become the so undtrack of our lives. We attach songs to special moments and are Aooded with memories when the right tune comes waftin g by. And it's not just the music that plays this powerfu l role. The lyrics too give us phrases that can set our course in life, rally arm ies, bind lovers eve n closer together.

Music is important to us because it can set moods and trigger powerful emotions. We have always known this anecdotally, but we also know that anecdote is like a red Aag to science. And so, in 1995, Jaak Panksepp, an intrep id neuroscientist from Bowling G reen State University in Oh io, set our to put th e anecdotes to the test. H e asked several hundred young men and women why music was important to them.

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Emotion turned out not only to be an answer, it was pretty much the answer.

Around 70 percent of both sexes said that music was important to them beca use " it elicits emotions and feeling. " The next choice. a very distant seco nd, was music's ability [0

"alleviate boredom. "

For Lovemarks, the well-worn phrases-the voice of the product, the voice of the consumer, the voice of our time-are to be taken literally. Hearing and speaking are two of the most powerful forces in creating deep emotional connections with anyo ne. And you need them both. To speak without listening is to badger and hector. To listen and not speak is to lose your personality. and rhe conversation peters out.

Brands are already into sound- and I'm not just talkin g full-production TV commercials. Retail environments, phone messages, brand signatures, radio, and the Intern et. At Toyota they are even interested in the silences!

"With the Prius we talk about quietness. Now noise can be measured

by figures, but there is also a quietness that you feel with your body.

for instance, with regard to the acceleration, the Prius is

,cry different from other ca". You can time the

speed of acceleration with a stopwatch, but

the actual speed and the body's perception

of it are very different. Of course, we do

measure these things, and we set some

target figures. But just because we get

the target figure we are after, it doesn't

mean it's okay. Figures are figures. We

need to be able tope! the quietness or teel good about the acceleration as we actually

experience it in the car. I think these things are very important."

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My New York apartment is a sensual haven. In New Zealand, my family and J live in a beautiful piece of native bush, with tropical palms and 150-year-old kauri trees. So our house there conneCtS directly to the landscape.

In New York- much as I love the place-the idea was to djsconnect. Here, I live in the hurly-burly, working with 7,000 other souls worldwide in a whirlwind of emotional tension. I wanted to go back to a home that would be secure and warming, calming and relaxing- to an article of faith. I wanted to open the door into something uncomplicated. I wanted the feeling of being embraced.

Architect Sam Trimble responded to my brief with empathy and intelligence:

"I went to geology texts and an encyclopedia to find metaphors for how to define the space physically and conceptually. In my research, 1 learned about tectonic caves-

natural caverns that look ordered and structured-and I decided to create a space that seemed hollowed out, as though carved from solid rock. "

Sam sourced a Portuguese limestone to transform the apartment into a cave. Its surface is variegated, hewn by its ancient

geological history of shells and liquid Rows. When I walk about in my bare feet, it is quiet and tactile. It caresses my soles!

Other natural materials were used throughout. The stone of the walls and Roors is relieved by the softness of wood, and both are illuminated by plays of light and shadow.

Sam created such a beautiful, sensuous space that I didn't

even need art on the walls.

I just walk in, and the space, its colors and surfaces, wrap and quiet me. The tranquillity liberates me. I'm refreshed here. Though I'm far away ftom New Zealand, I feel at home.

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Picking up the scent

The human senses of smell and taste are intertwined so tighdy it is hard to experience one without the other. Bonded together th ey speak more directly than the resr to our emotio ns, Qur memories and our dreams. Smell dominates taste. Whil e humans have four genes for vision , th ere are over 1,000 allocated (0 smell.

With around 400 ,000 recognizable odors

in the world , we have access (0 an incredible storehouse of potenti al connections.

They say that smell is almost exclusively stored in the long-term memory. Why else was Marcel Proust's most famous memory-jog the taste of a small cake, not its shape or name?

1 remember a friend telling me a great story about the power of smell. She'd been trying (0 sell her house with no luck for a couple of

months. When she changed agents, the new one suggested baking cookies in the oven jusr before people came (0 look over the house. The effect was immediate. The firsr people (0 visit signed up.

The associati on of rhe warm , cozy scent of cookies in [he oven turned the hOllse into a hom e.

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"r f you were to say, 'Name a brand

that has managed to get big fast,

make quality products, treat its

people very well and respectfully,

and understand the differences in

economies and tastes in other parts

of the world, while continuing to

grow,' one brand that comes to my

mind is Starbucks. Part of what's

interesting about Starbucks is the

extent to which they define what

they're producing not as a cup of

coffee, but rather a wonderful

experience, a break, a chance for

some community and relationship­

bui lding. Their stores create this

third space for people in the middle

of the rush and crush of everyday life.

They're not selling coffee, and they

know it. They're selling something

much more emotional. I was joking

to somebody that in the old days

you'd take your coffee to the office.

Now with Wi-Fi at Starbucks, you

take your office to the coffee. That's

an 31nazing success."

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Whether Starbucks plays mostly on taste or smell is up for debate. This extraordinary business has built a veritable empire on the experience of a hard brown bean. By making sure that the aroma of coffee infused their cafes, Srarbucks created a distinctive place (hat their consumers

loved to be in. And everyo ne else has noticed.

The retail world is being transformed as the potential of the senses is realized.

We are enterin g the sampl ers' paradise. The favorite hang-out of the sensualist. Soaps, baked goods, and paints are allowed to smell exactly as they are. Suddenly it is okay for a fi sh market to smell like ... a fis h market.

As far as taste goes, it is now hard to believe that the much-loved Japanese snack, sushi , was once thought of in the West as cold, wet fish wrapped in seaweed. The Lovemark lesson' Don't knock tastes beca use yo u don't like th em th e first time round. Red Bull doesn't appeal to me, but millions of people love it.

They don't call F 1 fans 'petrol-heads' for nothing. What a sensual extravaganza Formula One racing has beco me! High-octane fumes, the vibration of engines, the acrid smell of burning rubber. Overpowering. rut one percent of that energy into any other business and you've got a sensation on your hands. No wo nder sensation and Sensuality are members of the same fam ily.

Everyone of us has a personal odor that's as distinctive as a fingerprint. Why then have businesses been so shy about using this most sensual of the senses?

Why do so few corporations have their own scent?

My thought is that smell is so direct, so personal, and so specific, that people back off messillg with it. This is why you break open the game if you get it ri ght.

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My heart in my mouth

In the past decade we have learned more about the five bas ic taste qualities-sour, sweet, sal ry, bitter, and the recenrly described umami*-than we did in the previous 2,000 years.

We are at the dawning of a taste revolution .

The exp lo ration of taste (a nd sm ell as the larger part of it) is now a huge part of Resea rch

and Development. The hitch is that, o f a ll the senses, taste remains the most d ifficult to

meas ure. It is deeply subjective. It's tough to work out the elements of a Aavor wh ere the

quantities are so minute.

Science's solution? Taste scientists roam the globe searching for new tastes and novel ingred ients. They hullt th em , locate them , trap them , and then they take th eir treasures home to analyze

and recreate them in the laboratory.

And yet th e biggest challenge remains. How can you predict what people will like? Try going "out" from human emotion rath er than " in" from chemi stry. Taste a nd smell are huge

opportunities in the creation of Lovemarks. Both are pretty well limi ted to the food and fragrance industries today.

To think to yo lltself:

"What is the taste of that car?" or

"How does this DVD player smell?" seem s silly.

Time to get over that response. Expand in g th e senses into organizations, in to product development, into co nsumer relationships can be a fantastic inspiration and a potential

ga me-breaker.

'The word umami is derived from IImai, [he Japanese word for "delicious." More elusive than th e Big Four, it is often described as

"mea ty" or "brOlhy."

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My favorite exa mpl e is Apple's wonderful campaign for the iMac. They took taste out of the mouth and into the hea rt with their iMac advert isements. They made their computers in shades of strawberry, grape, and blueberry. And the message? YUM!

Pure Lovemark thinking. Apple customers are fa mously Loyal Beyond Reaso n. They really do think th eir computers are good enough to eat.

At Saatchi & Saatchi , we are using Lovemarks to focus on Sensuality. Take a ca mpaign we did for Procter & Gam ble and their anti-dandruff shampoo Head & Shoulders. In bus shelters, we featured an image of a young woman with (he wind in he r hair. Peopl e were invited [Q

press a burran [Q act ivate a puff of c itric-scented mist.

The memory of this scent and its association with a fresh, free spirit is what endures.

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That magic touch Fact: The skin is the largest organ in the body. Fact: The human skin has a special network of nerves. Fact: Our fingertips , tongue, and lips have the mOSt nerve endings .

So where do we go from there?

With our fingertips we can instantaneously identi fY smoorh, rough , hard , soft, wet, dry, hot, and cold through tighrly packed nerve endings. Put that sensitivity together with muscles and joints that tell us how much force we are applyi ng or is pressed against us, and we can get intense sensations from just abo ut anything we co me in co ntact with.

No wonder that when things are going well we talk about !feting good.

There are some places that do touch so wel l they become inspirat ions for the rest of us. Italy has got to be top of the list. Arrive at an Italian ai rport and you know yo u're deep in the land of the em brace. There have been serious academic studies of whether Italians touch more than everyone else. T he co nclusion ' They do. Italians were never taught "don't touch! " and their superbly tactile design heritage sp rings straight from these sensitive hands .

That's the way it goes with touch. Even when everyone is wrong, eve ryo ne is also right.

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Consider th e Indian parable about th e six blind men and the elephant.

The first blind man reached out and touched the side of the huge animal. "The elephant, " he said, "is nothing but a wall. " The second man felt the elephant's trunk. "The elephant, " he concluded, "is most likely related to the snake family. " The third blind man, chancing on the tusk, declared the elephant to be sharp and deadly like a spear. As he grabbed hold of the elephant's tail, the fourth blind man was convinced the elephant was like a piece of rope. The fifth man, feeling the ear, declared the elephant to be like a fon. As he put his arms around the elephant's massive legs, the last blind man scoffed at the others. "It is obvious," he said. "The elephant is exactly like a tree. "

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Why are most of the tex tures in cars so similar? Shut your eyes. Are there any d istinctive clues

to the brand? Occasionally there might be a how-boring-is-that leather/wood mix or (in the cheaper models) a don't-worry-about-me-I'm-just-the-driver vinyl/plasti c combo.

"The feel of a car often comes down to the small things, like the feel when you actually touch the material, leather, or wood. This is a new kind of thinking, thinking of how things feel to the consumer. To make my decisions, I must always ride in the car. There are many things that you cannot find from data that you discover when you ride in a car. There is nothing, no machine, that can replace the human body. It is the best sensor. For example, when you turn the steering wheel , sometimes you can just feel a sound. So faint you can't really measure it, but the feel of it is rhere. Also , things like the glove box, the console box, or the ClIp holder. When you open and close them they create their own sounds. And there are often faint sounds that can really irritate the person who is driving a car. The aim is to create a stillness that you can't actually measure by ligures in d,e normal sense, and this is done by feeling and touch ."

[Mas:1O Inolle, Chief Fngineer. Product Pl:tnning Division, TO)'OIa Mowr Corpor.ltionJ

W here does the auto industry put its major in vestment' lnto reduc ing touch, with power steering, super-suspension , state-of-the-art tires. No wonder we end up feeling like the boy in the bubbl e! Out of touch. Literally.

We need touch back. A new challenge for the might of mass production matched by the in vention of technologies that use tOllch.

I have watched with fascination as kids have responded enthusiastica lly to tactile experiences in game controllers. Take the Xbox controller. Eight buttons, two triggers, three toggling switches . .. and untapped possib ilities.

No wonder rhe under-25 set in Japan cal ls itse1f'The Thumb Generation." Mobile text-messaging marks a divide between generations that is as clear-cut as the Aares/ no Aares debate.

There is serious sense behind the idea of tollchpoints with consumers. Every business is sta rring to rea lize this. From the supermarket shelf and the co upon book to the TV spot, the ma ile r, and all po ints in betwee n, touch ing people matters.

In Ollr determination to make life easier we have removed valuable so urces of sensation from many products. Beating clothes against a stone has nothing much to recommend it, but I'm not so sure dropping them into a machine and pushing a button is the complete answer either. Somewhere in the middle there is an important place for our precious senses.

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Five things to do tomorrow

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What can turn an experience that is given to thousands and thousands of people into a mea ningful one for you' Intimacy.

The big question for me has always been, how do you get intimate with consumers without being invasive or insincere?

My question was answered on a Qantas flight to New Zealand. I was tired and distracted as I got on board. All [ wanted was to get to my seat, put away my bag, and sit down. When a flight attendant srepped in front of me, I admit I was only halfway pleased ro see him. He smiled polirely, and asked, "Can I get you a C hardonnay, sir? .. Or a beer, mate?" That's how you do Intimacy.

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As we developed Lovemarks at Saa tchi & Saatchi , Mysrery and Sensualiry were our immediate focus. They showed us big, new, and exciring ways thar would help people reconnect wirh brands in a deeper and more emotionally satisfying way.

But as we moved in deeper we began to realize that something was missing. A stilJ, quiet voice. A voice rhat talked nor abour big effects or sensarions, but about rhe minuriae of everyday life.

Personal. Sensitive. Continuous. What we were missing was Intimacy.

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Sure we need thrills, spills, and big gestures in our relationships, but we also need closeness, trust, and (you've got it) Intimacy.

Because Intimacy [Ouches directly on our personal aspirations and inspirations, it is much morc contentious than Mystery and Sensuality. It pushes up close to what sorr of relationships we want to havei the kinds of fami lies we need, what we share, what we don't, who sets rhe boundaries.

Intimacy poses questions like: How close can I get to you and sti ll feel comfortable? How much do I want you to know about me? How much do I want to know about you?

Peo pl e of different cultures and at different times have treated Intimacy very differently. We know for insta nce that the fr iendly handshake that stans so many greetings had its beginnings in the wa ry exposure of hands without knives or other weapons-another age's version of rh e

airport fr isk'

The th ree-cheek kiss of the French, the hongi nose-press of New Zealand Maori , the New Age

hug, the high-five of the streer. They all show very different faces ofTntimacy.

Close up A crucial problem for brands in their battle against commodification is their growing apart from consumers. Distant, undifferentiated, unremarkabl e.

Focused on growth and clamoring for attention , brands don't have a lot of time for nuance and sensitivity. I'll amend that- no time at al l.

McDonald's and N ike and the rest of the U.S.-created, global front-runn ers a re struggling to retain the emotional ties that have made th em legends and billion-dollar busin esses.

The big question: Have the brands themselves changed' Or is it th e other way around ' Has what people want from brands changed'

My take on th e brand /consumer relationship digs deep into the patterns of human behavior. Look back at the 1950s and 60s and the place the automobile had in the heans of the American public. It was in so close that to have a family photograph wi thout the family wagon as backdrop made no sense at all. Fast-forward to the 2 1st centu ry.

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When was the last time you lined up in front of the family car and took a picture?

Peo pl e need Intimacy in their lives. BlIt businesses have let many already well-defined opportun iti es slip away.

Many of tbe big brands became standoffish over the 1990s. Removing themselves from the

people who gave rhem their life-consumers­they fixed o n another aud ience: shareholders.

What a shareholder demands of a brand is very, very different from what's demanded by someone who loves it.

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Shareholders very seldom love the brands they have invested in. And the last thin g they want is an intimate relationship. They fi gure tbis could warp their judgement. They want measurability, increasing returns (always) , and no surprises {ever}. Imagine a relation­ship with someone like that!

No wonder so many brands lost rhe emoriona! thread that had led them to their extraordinary SllCCesS and [limed them instead into mctric­munchers of the lowest kind. Warch for the sign : Heads, not hearts, at work here.

They forget all about the intimate dimension of relationships. T hey loved Customer Relationship Management. They honed their ski lls assessing the benefits from sponsorships, entertainment partnerships, and al l th e other "ships." But if you attempted to get up close ... they dashed to the other side of the board­room table. T hey ignored the power of Inti macy. They neglected to look at the intimate responses that illuminate rhe great Lovemarks.

So many Lovemarks have pet names it could almost be a prerequisite.

Gimme a Bud. Who owns that Jag? We're going to Harvey Nicks ... or Bloomies, depending on where you live.

I'll have a Coke. Federal Express got it. They understood this kind of Intimacy was a gift- and shortened thei r name.

FedEx it to me ... .

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Transact a Love affair? I don't think so. Intimacy was crushed over the 20th century. Everyone was determin ed to reduce complex exchanges of buying and selling into fast and efficient tran sactions. Littl e wonder that the peopl e visiting the mall figured something was miss ing from their lives. Where once the moment of choi ce was wrapped in an intimate relationship with the seller, it has often beco me a ste ril e experience in an aisle that stretches forever.

"As a rule of thumb, if the guy who asks you to pick a card, any card, is wearing a top hat, he's not giving you a real choice."

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Shoppers respond by gerting the hell out as fast as they can. On an average supermarket visit, they are now spe nding only 32 minutes doing their major weekly shopping.

Now there's nothing wrong with streamlining or with efficiency. Everyone wants [Q save rime and dollars whether they are a shopper, a manufacturer, a truck driver.

But why throw your heart out the window with the numbers?

Anyo ne who has been to the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo knows whar I am talking about. Tuna auctions where millions of dollars of frozen fish are sold without a computer or calculator in sight.

I am not suggesti ng that business go back to handshakes and scraps of paper, but there is a lo t to learn from the intimate network of trust that the trad itional marketplace thrives on.

As the mass market geared up, businesses lost their way. They became detached from perso nal re lationships.

Everyo ne w ith a telephone has had a total stranger (aka telemarketer) asking how they are and did they have a nice day. As if they cared. Bank tellers and supermarket checkout staff treat us as long- lost friends. Our first names-form erly the province of fri ends and family-have become common currency. E-mail spam is simply part of this nend ... on steroids.

And what is the result> It feels all wrong. Trouble is that all this,

"Hi! I'm Harry, I'll be your best friend for this evening"

is based on process and careful targeti ng and not on intimate knowledge. They presume toO much. And human bei ngs ca n spOt that sO rt of falseness fa st. Real fast.

But connect with people's emotions and- despite all their conce rn s about privacy-they will tell you almost anything. A Jupiter research project once found that 82 percent of all respondents would give perso nal information to a new shopping site so they could enter a $ \00 sweepstake!

The nick is nor to exploit this thirst for personal co nnections, bur to slake it with integrity.

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Two-way street While Intimacy is fundamental to sustaining emotional connections, it is more elusive than Mystery and Sensuality. Why? Because Intimacy has got to be a two-way process. Listening as well as talking.

Listening is something that most brands are not great at. They evolved alongside the mass media, and that is where most of them have stayed. Talking, talking, talking.

The fragmemation of media demands a fresh approach. And this is where Lovemarks come in. Not to abandon the mass market, but to transform it with multiple emotional connections.

Intimacy requires an understanding of what matters to people at a very deep level. And that understanding means that you have to be prepared to reveal yourself as well. Reveal your true feelings.

Not standard behavior for most corporations!

But this is where we need ro venture.

Lovemarks are owned by the people who love them.

Not by the companies and people who design , produce, market, and distribute them. To act in the knowledge that consumers own Lovemarks calls for radical change. And one of the most radical is opening lip to Intimacy. It is only through Intimacy that the barriers of reserve will dissolve and brands can become Lovemarks .

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Some brands seem to be intimate almost without trying. Oprah Winfrey is a spellbinding example. Her mix of no-nonsense advice and personal insight is a formula th ar has wo rked fo r a number of ra lk show hosts .

But then, just when everyone thought the Idea had rung all its changes, Oprah added a new dimension Intimacy.

Oprah understands the power of Intimacy as well as anyone I have ever seen on relevis ion. She also undersrands how rhis Intimacy can rransform lives .

T he camera loves Oprah Winfrey, but instead of loving ir back like orher ralk show hosts, she looks righr rhrough ir and connecrs directly wirh her audience. Thar's Oprah's secrer. Transformation , not just communication.

The challenge of one Intimacy will meet a tough new chall enge in th e coming decades: rhe single- perso n house­hold. And traditional ways of dealing with people as members of co herent grou ps is just not go ing ro play.

Humans cannot li ve without intimate relationships, and yet we seem to be constructin g a wo rld where Intimacy is harder and harder ro ach ieve. And we are goi ng crazy doing it.

On CNN I saw a recent poll in which American singles said that what they most missed from not being in a relat ionsh ip was compan ionship. And then I read that a whole bunch of people in America felt that watching " Friends" on TV was part of their social life. Give me a break.

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Intimacy has three very different faces: • Empathy, so that we can understand and respond to other people's emotions

• Commitment, which proves that we are in the relationship for the long haul

• Passion, that bright spark that keeps the relationship alive

Empathy There is only one way to understand other people's emotions, or to really understand anything for that matter. By listening.

In my experience, empathy is most often created out of language and the sil ences that surround ir. When do you hear the most aston ishing insights? When you create an emotionally powerful space for th em to settle into, by listening.

Empathy is created out of the tension between the sound of the voice and an intended silence.

As we quickly find out when we enrer intimate relationships, what is said is often nOt so important. It is the inflections, the pauses, the combination of sounds and body language. This creates a co mpl ex mix of signs and signals that builds an empathetic rel at ionship.

Marketers find this very hard to accept. Their disciplines are founded on rational analys is and co nclusions, not idle chat and unfinished sentences . Tn their goal

136 iovemarkh

to push as much information as poss ible, marketers fail cons istently to make real connections. Intimacy is an understanding of what we are sharing in this moment, not

just what is being communicated.

Quick Aings beco me li felong Love affairs through empathy. Without empathy you can't do emotion , you ca n't do Intimacy­and you can forget all about truthful and transforming consumer insights.

I have always claimed Toyota's Camry is a Lovemark. And it is no t just because the Camry has been the bestselling ca r in America so many times, year in and year our. It is because the Camry has extraordinary empath y with so many consumers.

The Camry is a qui et car that keeps to itsel f. It balances brilliantly on the cutting edge of normal. It doesn't go for the big splash, but it does everything required of it-and more. Sounds like a good friend or a famil y member. The ones who make you feel better just by being there. No dram as, no fuss, just solid support and und erstandin g. They don't forget your birthday, they don't nag, and they always remember you love red roses.

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Love comes in many shapes. One of the strongest is the enduring Love built on intimate understanding . Camry owners know this.

They have fa llen in Love with a ca t that understands they don't want ro attract attention . A ca r that kn ows Love can be a private experience. T hat it doesn't have ro hold hands and kiss in th e Street. So let's not forget this Love that binds. Camry hasn't.

Another kind of engine, Coogle, has taken its own route ro empathy, and been well rewarded for it. Coogle says it deals ro more than 150 million searches a day. W hile engines like Ya hoo! turned inro a system of porrals, Google kept it simple. Very simple. So simple that the temporary add ition of a C hristmas tree felt like a major statement. You want empathy? How about yo ur co nsumers loving what YO li do so much they in vent a new expression based on your brand name-"ro Google"!

A moving experience

Rethink the mobile phone. Yes, I know all the sru ff about interrupting concerts, distracted drivers purring lives in danger, loud talkers annoying everyone else in a restaurant, but mobile phones ca n teach us a very different lesson abo ut what people value as wel l.

Let's go back ro the beginning.

The telephone has a strange hisrory. The initial co ncept was as a broadcast machine. O ne person could talk ro many others far away via telephone lines . And perhaps playa little music. Well , that didn't work' It is in our blood ro talk back.

The telephone then found its true calling as an instrument of perso nal communication . As someone born in England , I have always been amused by the role the class system there played in holding up the di ffusion of this cool new technology.

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Ir seems rh ar man y people poinr-blank refused to use th e tel ephone because rh ey mighr have ro speak with someone ro whom rhey had had no formal inrroduction' Can't ger less intimate rhan rhar.

The telephone survived rh e srupidiry of snobbery and opened up a whole new wo rld of Intimacy. People could keep in rouch. They could swap confidences in a way they would never think of in face-to-face encounters .

They could make rheir lives faster and easier.

In rhe 1990s rhe mobile phone rook the rransformation of everyday life [Q another

level alwgcrher-consranr communication.

As the yuppie label faded rapidl y, the mobile phone beca me an instrument of Tnrimacy. The builder of relationships.

If you want to be empathetic, you would have to admit there is a hell of a lot to listen to .

I n an average day an adult can lise as many as 40 ,000 wo rds. Thar's about five hours of co nrinuoLls speech. If you multiply this by an average age of 75, that's over a billion words in a lifetime.

And what will all these words be about' Im portant iss Lles of th e day' Very, very few of them. Most of ou r ta lk could be termed trivial. It's about the process of tal king rathe r th an the content. We ta lk about fam il y and fri ends, th e weather, loca l news, and (especially) the day's go in gs-o n. Gossip is the lifeblood of Intimacy.

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People now auromaticall y phone home to announce rhey are in the ca r and on rhe way

home. Everyone is consta ntly callin g every­

one else ro ex plain where th ey are, what is happening, what might happen. A poinr­by-point track ing throughout our li ves with ollr loved ones .

Intimate talking has beco me a 24/7 acrivity. Forget grammar and argument. We're talking haphazard, in co mplete, and emotional. This is not about co mmunicat ing information as

we have known it. Thi s is a constant sensing

of where YO ll are, where I am, and how we are both feel ing.

Commitment

To me co mmitm e nt is one of rhe most

important and most demanding of the Lovemark arrributes. Reme mber that g reat

definition of the difference between bein g committed and being involved ' In a plate of bacon and eggs, the pig is co mmitted, th e chi cken is jusr involved .

Long-term commitment-crucial to a Lovemark relationship.

Wo rking with P&G, I was introduced to

Cape Town academics Jan Hofmeyr and Butch Rice's Commitment-Led Marketing. We all agree thar loyalty is not enough. As Hafmeyr and Rice point out, loyalty ca n just be co nsumers act ing on autopilot,

continuing to buy the same brand because

they can't be bothered to make another choice.

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Too tired to leave

But commitment ca n transfo rm loyalty from an unthinking acceptance to a rea l sta re imbued with rea l emotion- Loyalty Beyond Reason.

This co mbination of loyalty and com minnenr is rhe powerful force we need ro harn ess for Lovemarks. Getting to that crucial place where people ate beyo nd th e information stage and point-by-po int com parisons. They have made th eir choice. They have committed to it before friends and fam ily. It is part of them. And they are not going to change now.

Fan clubs are a sure sign you are in the Lovemarks zo ne. T hey're also a great way to test the intens ity of feeling. Start with LEGO and LUG NET, the fan-created Internati onal LEGO Users Group Network. Not owned by LEGO, but ca ptu red by the LEGO experience.

From Adventurers to Robotics, Pirates to Football. They swa p, sell , debate, argue, learn.

Fa ndom has gone up a notch with the onset of the Internet. We ca n now view thousa nds of movies starring the LEGO fa mily. Check out www.geocities.co.jp/l-lollywood/9060/cinemae.html fo r an unfo rgettable version of The Matrix or www.planetofthegeeks.com/workbench/legol legomovies.hnnl for something less sophisti cated .

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As for commi tment of a differe nt Aavor, take Lucky C harms, the breakfast cereal with marshmall ows. A clear Lovemark to millio ns of little kids throughout the United States. But Lucky Charms are also the Number O ne breakfast cerea l consumed on college ca mpuses!

Now that's serious commitment, when you get college kids eating the same cereal they loved as youngsters. And doing it in public. The cute message for this group of cereal lovers? "I got lucky at breakfast!"

Committed people are prepared to wait .. . and wait.

for a reservation at the Le Cap rice restaura nt in London .

for an underground tour of the Mt. Isa mine in Australia.

fo r a Padron Mi llennium cigar.

fo r a bouncing baby girl or boy.

fo r a Harley-Davidson Softail Deuce.

to join the Reebok Sports Club/NY, the wo rld 's most advanced fitness facili ty.

r to receive treatments with the highly therapeutic Moor M ud in Austria, renowned for its healing properties.

140 iovemarbh

for Aston Martin's VI2 Vanquish.

to have your Japanese sword polished in Japan.

Around 3 r in Singapore for Kelly and Birkin bags by Hermes.

for a Rolex Dayto na watch.

to become one of the towns hosting a Tour de France start or finish.

18 fo r season tickets to the New Yo rk G iants.

?D I' r for a I 50-year-old wall-mounted GPO (General Post Office) box. With keys.

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Loya lty Beyond Reason is what persuaded th e App le tribe to keep buying the brand when Apple

was producin g bland, beige boxes no different than any other on the market. For peo pl e who had jo ined Apple because it was cool, buyi ng one of these compute rs was a big ask. Many of [hem s[Uck with it-all rhe rime wo ndering why.

Steve Jobs made his triumphal return to App le in 1994. Back on track, the company went to the leading edge and stayed the re. And all those co mmitted consumers fe lt vi ndicated. More loya l than eve r. What susta in ed th e Mac love rs over the tough beige period>

I call it "Love in the bank."

W ith Loyalty Beyond Reason, Apple could make mistakes and still be forgiven. Th is is the rewa rd for a Lovemark. Only Love wi ll get consumers through the bad times when common sense tells them they should change. Because Apple users loved the product, they were committed to it as an idea of themselves. They were Apple people. Loved members of the Apple fami ly.

For M icrosoft, looking down from the top of its mu lti -billion-doll ar mountain , the Apple story may seem inconsequential. Big mistake. T he lesso n for Mi crosoft is not the threa t of Apple building a bigger co mpany based on Love and comm itment, but Microsoft's own chan ces of retainin g one that's not. Bigger giants than M icrosoft have decayed. W hen so mething bette r and more lovable ca me alo ng, nobody was committed enough to hang around.

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142 iOYEma rb.

Passion

There is one more thin g th at I believe Lovemarks need that a ligns with Intimacy. empathy, a nd commitment. It is the intensity and rush that accompanies only the stron ges t emotions. Pu t together with Love it ca n transform the most insign ifi ca nt product inro a must-have. It has the power to give an intensity to a relation ship th at wi ll carry it through good times and bad. Passion.

With passion, the most difficult of objectives can be achieved.

Without passion , the best-laid plans can wither and die. Analyzi ng it is a waste of time. Having it is a blessing and a gift.

W hen N ike signed up Mi chael Jordan , even they never suspected how pass io nately co nsumers would co ntinue to feel about this man.

Clare Hamill , Vice President, N ike Goddess, says:

"The Brand Jordan phenomenon that's a part of the Nike brand continues to show an inexplicable Love for that man. With Michael Jordan, it's personal. You call him Michael, you have a name relationship with him. Somehow sports teams and some key athletes can really create that kind of emotional connection. They're like your family. You live and die if they do. "

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Pass ion can deepen if i[ can be handed on fro m person to person. The Zi ppo ligh[er has been an inspirat ion ro American servicemen throughout the world. Why is [his? Apart from [he fan [hat the lighter wo rks every time, I think it has ro do with the way Z ippo has encouraged the use of its lighter as a mini billboard . Having your Zippo engraved with a personal slogan has beco me a rite of passage for millions of sold iers and sailors.

It all started in the Second World Wa r when U.S . soldiers, far from home, regarded their Z ippos as prized possessions, o ften personalizing them with unique Trench Art. Ernie Pyle, the famous WWII war correspondent, wrote in August 1944:

"If I were to tell you how much these Zippos are coveted at the front, and the gratitude and delight with which the boys receive them, you would probably accuse

me of exaggeration. I truly believe that the Zippo lighter is the most coveted thing in the army."

So why bother? Letting consumers participate in the brand is very powerful. With Lovemarks, as with personal relationships, yo u often ga in power by givi ng it away.

The obvious question is, of course, why should a busin ess care wheth er its products are Lovemarks or not ' After all , things are going pretry well for companies like Microsoft. Why should a fa th er be generous to his kids? W hy should we ca re abour our next-door neighbors? Because thar's how we create a wo rld we love to live in . It's a150 how we create long-last ing relationships- and Loyalty Beyo nd Reason. Without Love, 1 guarantee even the greatest businesses will topple. They won't even see it comi ng because no one will care enough to tell th em. It has happened before and will happen again . Even if you are [he biggest , the best, or the brightest , why wou ldn't you also crave to be the mOSt loved' Why wouldn't you want to help make the world a better place?

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Five things to do tomorrow

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The Love/ Respect Axis 5aatchi & 5aatchi 's C hairman Bob 5eelert is

a Slllarr man and a great sounding board for

ideas that are struggli ng to realize them selves. We were wa iting at Auckland Ai rport late

o ne evenin g o n o ur way to Los Angel es and I started o n my Love rap. Bob had heard

most of it before, b ut this ti me I pulled o ut

a nap kin and drew a horizontal line showing

Love at o ne end and Respect at the o th er.

I showed Bob how it m ight wo rk. How everyth ing was tell ing us that brands had run

out of ju ice. How th ey had to evolve into somethin g more. And how I would place th is

new kind of brand near the Love end of the lin e. Lots of Respect, but movin g towards

high Love on the righ t. Products wou ld stay at the far left , low Respect, low Love. The

standa rd brands wou ld probably be so m e­where in the middle.

The goal would be at the head of the line. High on Love !

Bob loo ked at it fo r a couple of m inures. "There's another way [Q show this to more effect, " he to ld me. Taking the pen he drew

a second lin e. thi s o ne crossing ove r my Love/ Res pect line midway. My lin e was transform ed in an insta nt inro an axis.

And Bob was so ri ght. T he ax is forma t

immed iately showed Love as a goal above

and beyo nd Respect.

146 tovEmar~'"

Now we could clearly show the o ngoing

importance of Respect and the urgency of moving inro a relat ionsh ip based on Love. Love of des ign, Love of service, Love of

customers, Love of life.

W ithout Res pect there is no fo undat io n

fo r any lo ng-term relat io nship. W ith out th e

sharp delineation of rhe axis fo rmat, it was toO easy for our ideas about Love to float off

into feel ings with no practical edge. Okay if

we wanted ( 0 be psychotherapists about it, bur so mehow that was not w here we were headed' Bob brought Love to ea rth.

Respect is the key to the success of many of our biggest clients. Such success should not be devalued; it's just no longer enough.

Compan ies like big-time 5aa tchi & 5aatchi

clients Toyota and Procter & Gamble have

invested billions and won aston ishing

Respect for theit products and brands. And

they have done it through susta ined feats of focus and self-disciplin e. W hatever we call ed

the new generat ion of brands, it was go ing to

need Respect- and a lot of it. Respect, it

was clea r, had to be tablesta kes. No Respect, no admission.

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Looking for Love

/ ' / L As we started to shape Lovemarks at Saatchi t1W ~ 1'~Vf & Saatchi we saw how the Love/ Res pect Axis I could help us work our where they fitted.

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How low can you go?

It was obvious that the lower left-hand area-low Respect, low Love-would hold co mmodities. The products people need but do n't desire, or even like a lot. Sa nd , iron, salt, gravel, that so rt of stuff. Some o f them make it out of the shade and work their way lip. Bas marj rice is o ne example. So is Ca rrara marble. Co uld brands fa ll from

grace back inro this co mmodificatio n hole? Telcos will tell you the answer to that one. You bet they can.

After o ne of my presentations, a young marketer came up [Q me with an impo rtan t question.

"You say emotion is the key to building relationships," she said. ''I'm in the brick industry. How do you make bricks emotional?" "You don't," [ told her. "Buc," [ added, "what you do do is talk about what the bricks stand for: homes, families sitting around the fireplace feeling safe and warm. Achievements. Buildings built by bricklayers whose inspirational dream was nothing less than to touch the sky."

148 iovemar~A

The botto m righ t-hand area had to be the home of fads, fas hio n, and infatuatio ns. Loved for 15 minutes and then tossed as ide to make way fo r the next cool item in the queue. From hula hoops to kipper ries' to "Survivor." I nfaruario ns grow fro m our fan tasies abo ut who we are and where we belo ng. They thri ve o n ho pe, nOt under­standing. Fun , frothy, and right fo r the moment. And just that momenr. You ca n make a lot o f mo ney out of a fad , but your timin g must be impeccable. Wh o wa nts a bunch of Beanie Babies now?

So me ra re in fa tuat io ns ca n transfo rm into Love. Look at the So ny PlayStatio n. Initiated as a gaming system with N inrendo in 199 1, Sony qu ickly went ir alo ne and released rhe first PlayStario n in Japan in 1994 . It srormed pasr the established comperirio n o ffe red by Sega and N intendo and took anothe r leap forwa rd wirh rhe release of the PiaySrat io n2 in 200 1. No

one is call ing it a fad any more.

• Don', remember those cXlra-widc kipper ties? T hat's because [hey were only a fad. Here today, forgoncn toJnorrow.

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/-o'N RESPECT

/-'W + L OVE:..

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= COMMODITIES

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Stuck in the middle with you

Above the low Respect line on the left are most brands. This is where the effortS and in vest ment of the last 50 years have gotten th em. But many risk fa ll ing into the sand trap below, tough competition , tight margins, and lack of individuality turning them into "blands. " Others have built up high levels of Respect based o n sOllnd management and co ntinuo us improvement. But what they have earn ed in Respect has littl e emotion. Sensibl e and well meas ured, it's hard to tell one from another.

The high life- Love marks

In the top right, the sun always shines: high Respect, high Love. W hy wouldn't you want to be there? You know by instinct who belongs in this quadrant. Virgin is there. United would like to be. The iM ac? Yes. The ThinkPad ' Don't think so. It's home for Disneyland but not for Seven Flags.

Make yo ur ow n list.

Love

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The Love/Respect Axis is at its best in conversation: co nversarions about products and brands and what they need in order to become Lovemarks, conversations about successes, conversations to spark insights.

Jill Novak, a Saatchi & Saatchi Senior Vice President in New York, and Eric Lent, Kodak's Direcror of Youth Marketing, gor together over the Love/Respect Axis ro trace how Kodak got ro grips with the youth market in the Un ited States.

By the mid-1990s a new force was about to start snapping pictures: Generation Y. Kids born between 1979 and 1994.

Cen Y had the biggest discretionary spending power of any teen demographic in history. And they loved photography, particularly girls from 12 to 17.

The trouble was that Kodak was experiencing some keen competition from Fuji, and Cen Y 's comfort wi th technology made the situation even more critical. Eric sums up the issue:

"Technology had never entered a generation's cultural vernacular in such an intense way. The category was heading away from traditional photography to digital photography, making these young consumers even more important. They were the ones to drive the adoption of new products and services. We absolutely had to alter their perceptions of us and create a relationship that could last a lifetime."

For a company that had, in Eric's words, "a 1 OO-year history of talking to moms," it was time for radical change.

JiU: Eric, this conversation wi ll be about Saatchi & Saatchi taking a journey in the land of youth with Kodak. Jr's a journey we began almost four years ago. It all started with the business objective of making Kodak the brand choice for the gener­ation that is critical to Kodak's fueure, Gen Y, and specifically teen girls. Eric: The Love/Respect Axjs maps out what was happening competitively in rhe U.S. market in 1999. We had Polaroid with their i-Zone instant

150 lov€markA

photo stickers. This was a novelry technology and very appealing to teens. Jr was the fad of the day, with high Love but no long-term Respect. Our other competitor, Fuji, was primari ly into price competition. So they belong in the low Respect, low Love quadrant. Bur even there they were still serious competitOrs. Being a Japanese company and not subject to the quarterly pressures we face, they were able to take a long-term, 3D-year-plus view of the marker. O n top of that, Fuji had a

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W hich brings us to Kodak. You can see that for one-ri me-use cameras, which is the product line we are looking at, I have pur us in the top left quadrant. And you can see that we were gett ing much stronger Love from adults than teens. Jill: That's Kodak in 1999. How would the Love/Respect Axis look today for you with the Gen Y teen market? Eric: ['d say we are a developi ng Lovemark. Nor at the sweet Sp Ot yet, but well on (he way. Fuj i went into the marker but stayed with price. and so hasn't rea lly moved on the Axis. Polaroid never got out of the fad quadrant. Jill: Cou ld you outline how we worked together to capture the teen market? Eric: As a brand for teens you have to be fun and you have to be cool. In 1999 we were doing quite well, but when you looked at the larger category, you quickly realized that everybody else was also into fun and cool.

So we analyzed both the brand and the consumers closely. We found out that relative to the category we had a heritage with some golden nuggets.

Kodak's equities are emotion, optimism, quality, and trust. All very important to teens.

So we translated them for teens to drive off of: con nection, hopefulness, authenticity, and honesty. We also found that we were already part of the teen cul turaJ vernacular. You' ll have heard it: "Excuse me, can I have my Kodak moment back?" Now that's a strong, rich, deep connection.

We knew toO that teens go through some very dramatic changes. Trying on different value systems, different sets of fr iends, different sets of clothes. Trying to figure Out who they are, where they fit in, and what ro le they have.

We also learned that everybody wants to be around a kid with a camera.

When you have the camera in your hand, you're in control. It helps you overco me some social inhibitions. We were onto some deep, deep teen truths. Jill: Can we look at how Mystery, Sensuality, and Intimacy helped shift Kodak to becoming a Teen Lovemark? Eric: Let's talk first about Intimacy. Once you get below the hard surface, most teenagers are fragile individuals trying to figu re our who rhey are and where they fit in . Our advertising created a sense of optimism and hopefulness in their quest fo r self-identity.

As for Mystery, just about all our TV SpotS show a situation that immediately intrigues kids about what's go ing on.

We show stories versus telling them and selling them. Let them figure things out for themselves.

Jill: A great example was the goth spot. Eric: Sure. The spot Saatchi & Saatchi developed for us showed a goth teen taking pictures and making a collage for a school photo project. And as she makes this co llage she also connects wuh a goth guy in her class who is another .outsider. When she displays her collage, the entire class recoils in disbelief Bur one boy leans forward. It's the other goth, and they smile at each other. Jill : Where do we need to focus If Kodak IS to continue to push no rth to the top f1ghr­hand corner of the Lovemark quadran t? E ric: I think it 's Intimacy. What sets us apart from everybody else is we ca n relate to the teen wo rld.

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.. , ' , . ""."'"" . '" ' •••• ' . • • • OVO.· iI " ••• i . 'OO~ ' ,~. • i . '0 ... , , I I. • I I • iI • ''i''. '' •••• 'I • • • • •••• " ..... II I I

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We discovered what we call passion points-everything from music , fashion, sports, and celebrities, to entertainment and technology,

And we identified music as a teen's most important passion point.

We worked with a record company out in L.A. and found an up-and-coming boy band called Youngstown. We didn't want an established group because teens want to be pan of the discovery and make a band. Jill: Mystery, right? Eric: Right. So we trained Youngstown to be brand stewards, and put them on a [Qur of 22 markets throughout the U.S. in partnership with Volunteers of America. We were in malls because this is where everything in America happens.

We did a lot of pre-event awareness-building activities-advertising, radio, Channel I in schools, a partnership with Sam Goody where they sold a special Youngstown pack with a one-rime-use camera. a CD specific to the event, a Youngscown keychain.

Usually, events like this get maybe a couple of hundred people, but our band was drawing up to 3,000 teens per event. As the show opened there was a big Kodak splat logo, which we had designed for younger consumers, on the back of the stage.

The boys came out with their one­time-use cameras, snapping pictures of the audience. Then they 'd throw the cameras out to them. It was just this massive photography love-fest.

Jill : We also developed those cool little carry cases with the Kodak logo. Kodak Wraps.

152 iovemarkAo

----- -Eric: Playing to the theme of Intimacy as well. Teen girls worked on designing their dream accessory for a one-rime-use camera. Designs and color choices were pur up on AHoy. com, and teens voted on the final product line. Then we brought to market exactly what they recommended. Thar was a product created for teens by teens. Jill: So Kodak's in a great place right now with teens, but we need to keep up the momentum. What can we do to ensure that Kodak doesn't become a fud like Polaroid? Eric: We need to have an absolutely relentless focus on what's top-of-mind with teens today, because we know their habits change.

And we have to remain a beacon to teen girls across the nation, letting them know that it's really okay to be themselves,

Then, on top of that, we need products and services that anticipate teens' un met needs and tap into their desires. To sum that up with two words, we need to continue to be authentic and relevant.

But the rewards for moving in the direction of a Lovemark are high. With, relatively speaking, limited funds we've achieved significant successes. The nrSt share increase in our company's history for the one-time-use camera segment. The Number One, Two, and Three higheSt-scoring ads in the company's 100-plus year histOry. As well as improvements in brand preference and category usage. In fact, teen girls are now using one-time­use cameras 53 percent more frequendy than at our starting point in 1999!

(

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Chapter 12

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW

/

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Malcolm Gladwell again :

"I am interested in what it means to take the unconscious seriously

in marketing and other realms. Much of psychology at the moment

is consumed with taking the unconscious seriously after a gap of

50 years. But it is a return in a much more sophisticated way than

previously, exploring the role the unconscious plays in decision

making, in impression formation, preference formation.

"Once you take the unconscious seriously you undermine virtually all quantitative market research and its focus. This is very good news for the creative part of the advertising world, and bad news for the number-crunchers.

"I nside the heart of every marketer beats a control fanatic. They want

a quantifiable process, and they would like to introduce a level of

transparency to things that are necessarily oblique.

" In my new book, I am interested by this question: When you ask

someone how they feel , how seriously can you take their answer?

And the answer to that is, not very seriously. And yet the temptation

to take their answer at face value is nearly overwhelming in all domains,

not just marketing. "

Lovemarks need research, but a d ifferelH kind of research. I know that I am rarely asked my

opin ion as a consumer. I presume my transact io ns are data-t racked and batch-analyzed by

computer, but I never get asked for my stories. We need research that puts consumers at the cente r rather than at the base of a ve ry large pyram id. And I'm not ta lk ing about JUSt turning

the PowerPoint upsid e-down l

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I'm looking for resea rch rhar counts the beats of your heart rather than the fingers of your hand. Research that connects with the inner life of the consumer. Not as statistical constructs. Not as they were. Not as you wo uld like them to be, but as they truly are: living, feeling beings full of fears and desires, hopes and dreams . Kris Kristofferson got it: "A walkin' contradiction/Partly truth and partly fiction."

Fresh and true insights are the way into the inner life of the consumer. Peter Cooper of the London research company QualiQuant International offered us this one:

"The way people personalize computers or other ordinary, everyday objects

around the home is a very significant way in which people make sense out of

the world. One of the earliest studies I was involved in was for Electrolux, the

appliance manufacturer. I was always struck by a remark from one particular

housewife lip in Manchester, England. She described her spin dryer like this,

'My spin dryer to me is called Fred, and I have a relationship with Fred which

is often better than the one I have with my husband.'"

As Lovemarks take onboard the best attributes of brands, so the new research will be created out of rh e best techniques of current research.

The failure of research to truly engage with consumers is not just a problem for resea rchers. It's a problelTI most people in any business share.

I discovered this first-hand when I was working in the Middle East for Procter & Gamble . Like other co mpanies at the time, P&G 's resea rch was done by th e numbers. Sometimes it seemed to me that we did little other than to verifY what we already knew. We were tied to benchmarks and followed norms. I found it tough to see the value of all this, so I spent as much time as I could our of the office, three weeks out of four.

I Can Sec Clearly Now 157

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My passion was store checks and home vis its. After goi ng through all the numbers, I'd head into Dubai and visi t a hundred little shops in the Soukh and get myself invited into consumers' ho mes. I talked with retailers, consumers, people juSt walk ing by. Irrespective of what the share nu mbers said , I got my insights from these con nectio ns.

When th e store vis its ind icated the trends, I knew whether I had the right distribution model, the right prici ng model , and the right packaging lineup. My conversatio ns with store owners and what I saw with my own eyes wId me if Ollf fundamenta ls were 0 11 track.

O nce I'd done the store checks, I'd go into homes and watch rhe wome n at wo rk. I'd sir down with a wo man and watch h er life and the lives of her kids. I'd get an understa nding of how much tim e she spent with her hu sba nd, how he dressed, what he d ressed in , where he wen t, and what peo ple's reactio ns wcrc. I lea rned what

matte red to them as a fam ily.

As I gOt to know some of these wo men, they'd let me look into th eir laundry baskets, allow me to check out their cupboards. Some of these people were ve ry poor. Some didn't even have underclothes . The lesso n was obvious. W hile we had been ve ry co ncern ed in our adverrisi ng with helpi ng ou r co nsumers wash nne fab rics, guess what' Most of them d idn't have anyl

I learned that unless you get to know people and stand beSide them as they work, you will find out only what they believe you want to know.

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I found this to be true tim e and time again. W hen I was working for Pepsi, I found o ne of my local cafes wo uld buy pri vate- label cola and pour it into their one Pepsi bottle. W hen a customer turned up they wou ld always be served a "Pepsi." You could interrogate the numbers ti ll you're blue in the face and never get close to that in sight into how people truly va lued the brand.

To undertake Lovemarks resea rch whereve r you are means develop ing close relat ionships with consumers. J n the M iddle East this co uld mean markets and cafes. In the Un ited States we co uld be talking sports ga mes and schoolyards.

W ithout a doubt many consum ers are hi ghly informed a nd deeply suspicious of marketing. W hat they do respond to, however, is pass ion. No one can resist enthusiasm. If you are sea rching fo r insight because yo u love your product, the resu lts can be extraordinary.

At Saatchi & Saatchi we group our resea rch into rh ree approaches. I believe these ap proaches can transform the way businesses co nn ect with co nsumers:

1. Climb a mountain

2. Go to the jungle

3. Think like a fish

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2. Go to the jungle

Xploring is based on a very simple principle.

If you want to understand how a lion hunts, don't go to the zoo, go to the jungle.

Xploring came out of our attempts ro understand China. 1.3 billion people. 3.7 million square miles. and 40 new babies every minute! At Saatchi & Saatchi. we believe that Nothing is Impossible.

We began by encouraging our clients ro invest in better. more insightful research. We invested our own money and time in focus groups and discussions. fact-finding and analysis. Essentially. we gathered a lot of information.

Most businesses gather information

consumers ~ goi~nt".~:Q.J respondents in a ·vlewing

snack$. ~ let ~.tbrough

Enter Xploring. It is probably the oldest research technique ever used. But despite its effectiveness, most compan ies seem to have forgotten about it.

Ironically. Xploring is far easier ro conduct. more affordable. and far more insightful and inspiring than traditional research.

Simply put, the Xplorer puts on a pair of comfortable shoes, grabs a backpack, and heads off.

There are no one-way viewi ng mirrors . No projective techniques. Just interaction. observation. and lots of conversation.

~ve been ired counties homes. hung out with kids in video arcades.

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.. , ' . . ~ ~

' .. I ; . , '

~(\. ~ ,

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In those travels we have met 22-year-old millionaires, and gas station anendants with dreams [0 own their own business.

We have met children whose ambition is to learn English, not so they can study abroad, but so they can make China stronger in the world market.

C hildren with ambitions [0 keep Ch ina clean. O ld men who believe roday's Chi na is a woman's world . And young srudents who believe the furure of the world 's economy is firmly in the hands of C hina.

To be successful in C hina, we have [0 srop being lured blindly by the sheer scale of the market (and it is amazing) and take the time ro understand its people-and most importantly, what motivates them. As A.G. Lafley of P&G says, "Answers aren't just found in numbers. You have [0

get out and look. "

By doing just that, we came away from our firsr Xploring trip I don't Wieve: JI any

II The women of China have achieved a high measure of financial equaliry. Now they are struggling for recognition and higher starus.

III Like people everywhere, what the Chinese say is not necessarily how they feel , but the fear of loss of face adds a new layer of complexiry.

1/11 The Chinese are in Love with romance. It is not the past that the Chinese [Oday respond ro.

-tttf- They are motivated by their passion to make C hina great in the future.

-tttf- I There are no VCRs. There are many DVDs. C hina is not slowed by decades of technological baggage, and leaps straight to

the best new offerings.

-tttf- II Consumers in China don't fear technology. They crave it.

-tttf-ill The Chinese do nOt want to

become Western. What they do want is to gain respect for being C hinese. Western icons and imagery interest them. Respect for what is Chinese connects with them.

It is nor difficult to see how emotional can be inspired by any of these

the bt!!ury of Xploring is that conducted on a sU~,err!lar~.

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P&G have taken the "go to the jungle" idea and developed it as an approach they expect from everyone in the company. Jim Stengel, P&G's Global Marketing Officer, puts it like this:

"What P&G tries to do is to be very closely and personally in touch with our consumers. This means being out there with them and participating in the ways they live their lives. And that's not just calling them or sending them an Internet survey. It's about being in their homes, shopping with them, watching them as they use our products, talking to them about their lives. For senior people, junior people, everybody at P&G, our culture means being a part of our Consumer's life."

Jim reveals a host of insights discoveted at the consumer's side. Insights that have not only shaped how P&G talks with consumers, but also how they have developed new products. Here's one example of how effective this kind of research can be:

"I Unite States we sell a lot of Tide in outlets where they sell very large sizes of products at a discount. In the end we came to the point where we were making the detergent botrles so big and heavy that our consumers were having trouble lifting them! But, because we saw the problem in action in the supermar­kets and at home, we knew we needed to act. Our solution was to put a spout on the bottom of the bottle, like a beer tap. This meant that

was doing the washing could push a button and hold a cup underneath the

get the amount

"You don't get an idea like that by sitting in a room. It happened when we were watching consumers struggling to pour out of very big bottles of detergent in their own laundries at home."

The reverse si tuation came out of the same sort of observation in the Middle East. There, P&G people noticed that women often could not afford a box of Ariel for their washing. So they began selling Ariel in small sachets. Now households could spread the cost of washing and still avoid going down to the river with a bar of hard soap.

Masao Inoue, the Chief Engineer of Toyota's fuel-efficient vehicle, the Prius, ventured out to do his own Xploring. He was wo rking on a new model for the very different Ametican matket.

"Baseball is very popular in Los Angeles, so I went and watched a game there. I parked my Prius in the parking lot and then watched the game. When I walked back to the parking lot I found my car was surrounded by larger cars and pick-up trucks. The Prius looked very, very small against them. I just felt it very strongly. It is something that you have to experience, to feel. So my thought was that the Pri us as it was might be too small for the United States market. By being there and seeing the different sizes I learned some­thing you can't real ly learn from r."Olno the size and m"asl"reme:n~

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3. if ink like a fish .

Clare and lier people at the Nike Goddess stores talked with consumers about time

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Five things to do tomorrow

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Chapter 13

I'LL FOLLOW THE SUN

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Lovemarks are owned by th e people who love them. That's simple enough. But just as the consumer's point of view (rather than simply that of the brand) comes into focus, something else becomes very cl ea r. Some people take their Love of a brand very seriously indeed.

These are the people who would be shocked by the very idea of the "passive consumer," so loved by marketing manuals and anti-brand activists . They are the ones who promote and advocate for their brand. The ones who organize for reinstatement, who suggest improvements and refin ements, who create websites and spread the word. They are also the people who act as moral guardians for the brands they love. They make sure th at wrongs are righted and hold the brand fas t to its stated principles .

I call them Inspirational Consumers.

"When you think about viral marketing and the people who turn others on to your service and recommend it highly, they are your Inspirational Consumers. These are consumers who themselves market the things they are passionate about. So, they might say, 'Oh, haven't you flown JetBlue?' and they all but sell you the tickets and put you on the plane! For the company, they become the buzz marketing arm. In the early days of Yahoo! we had a lot of that. Now you can see it too with Google. People are just passionate about Google, and they can't help themselves from telling their friends about it. For Yahoo! our Inspirational Consumers are the ones that, without getting any marketing dollars from us, tell people about our services."

170 ~ov€mar~.1

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In 1985, it was I ns pirational Co n s um e r s

who told the C o ca-C ol a Co mpany In no uncerrain

terms that New

C oke was not gOing to replace

tradi tional Coca-Cola. And th at was that.

Too bad about the $4 mil­lion investme nt in market

research and over 200 ,000 blind taste tests. It may in prin ci­

ple (or even in fact) have tas ted better, bu t these Coke love rs d idn't

care. A del uge of phone calls and letters demanded the return of the original C oca-Cola.

A group of Inspirational Consumers formed the Society for the Preservation of the Real Thing . There was panic buying. In San Antonio , Texas , a local man drove to the town's bottler and bought $1 ,000 worth of "real" Coca-Cola.

And C oke got the message. It took less than three months fo r this huge company to respond

ro rhe consumer tide of o utrage,

and return to the original ingredi­ents. Coke acknowledged that it is

the consumer who owns a Love mark ,

not the company.

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The New C oke debacle has become legendary, bur 1 am interested in those consumers who caused the turmoil and turnaround. Coke's website pays tribute to them today by posting New Coke memories. T his one is my favo rite:

" My family and I have been active Coke

drinkers for my entire life. I recall a time when Coca-Cola decided to change the

formula; there was havoc amongst the

members of my household. I believe there

was a date when the new Coke would be

sold and the old Coke would be removed

from the shelves. My father, who is a tremendous Coke consumer, panicked ,

rushed to the store, and bought several cases of what is now Coke classic. These

Cokes only lasted two weeks. I was a child

when this happened , and I recall my

father grounding me for drinking his 'old Coke,' which he held as priceless. Thank

God for the return of Coke classic or my family may still be in mayhem."

As Roger Enrico, former CEO of arch-rival Pepsi-Cola, said in his well-known book The Other Guy Blinked, "By the end of their nightmare, [Coca-Cola] fi gured out who they really are. Caretakers." He might have added ... "of a Lovemark. "

Those blind tests were blind alright. They forgot to ask the key question:

"How would you feel if we changed Coca-Cola to this new formula?"

172 2ovemarkJ..

That's the question that would have allowed their Insp irational Consumers [Q warn rhem of the consequences. And make it very clear to them that the line, "The best just got better" was never go ing to fly.

Inspirational Consumers understand that the Love of a brand goes two ways. When a co nsum er loves yo u enough to take action, any action, it is t ime to take notice. Immediately.

Be hon est. How many suggestio n cards have you left in a box waiting until yo u had the time to loo k at them? How many times have yo u side-stepped an irate cus­tomer beca use you didn't need the stress' And isn't it a li ttle weird that yo u never get a sin gle e-ma il from a co nsum er? Ever. Yes, business protects itself wel l, and consum ers know it. But in these co nsumers li e the seeds of inspiration.

So start thinking of these people who love what you do as Inspirational Consumers. Help them get behind your brand and watch it accelerate into a Lovemark.

Inspiratio nal Co nsum ers bu ild fan sites, Inspirational Consumers act as the catalyst for word-of-mouth campai gns, Inspirational Consumers can make great products better, Inspirational Co nsumers have ideas that matter, ideas that can transform yo ur brand- if yo u will let them.

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In my ex perience, Inspirat io nal C onsumers

not only love a brand , they also love people. That's what gives them their emotional dri ve- what g ives th em the ir sheer stamina.

They are the first voice in the game of tag we call "word-of-mouth. "

.' .... ..... :-: ·0:: ....

W hat was th e most famo lls te lev isio n

co mmercial ever produced in the histo ry o f the world ?

Apple. 1984 . Right? O nly ran o nce a t the

Superbow l. W hen peopl e first saw it th at Sunday nig ht, I do n't beli eve anybody got

it. W hat was she doing with that hamm er' And then .. . wo rd-of-mo uth .

The best thing you can do is enterta in and

stinllliate thro ugh a grear piece of Mysterious,

Sensuous. a nd Intimate co mmunicat io n. Then people sta rt talk ing and you have

th a t miracl e of powe r communication: wo rd-o f- mou th.

Perso nally, I fin d "word -of-mo uth" a silly

ex press ion. W here else do wo rds come fro m ? W hat's impo rtant is wh ose wo rd-o f­

mouth and why they're talkin g. Some guy co mes up to you o n the sidewalk and raves

about his mobile phone. We all do the sa me thing. Step to o ne side. Never slow down.

We can hear everything, bur we wa nt to

listen to something that matters-fro m someone we love and respect. So Lovema rks

grow o n emo tio nal connectio ns rather than

just word-of-m o uth. As Malco lm G ladwell

put it:

"What I am looking for is someone who is defined simply by knowing more than I do . If I wanted absolutely the best source on computers, I would find someone who worked in the industry. But I don't. Most of us look for someone who has a marginal advantage over us in information. I tend to opt for trust over expertise, and I ask my brother."

Let 's look at some o f these Inspiratio nal

Consumers at work.

I 'll Follow dl(' Sun 173

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Inspirational break Insp irational Consumers can also help Lovemarks transform products. "Break" is a square chocolate bar with a loyal following in Greece. It had one problem. The blocks were so thick people struggled to break or bite off a piece.

The retailets soo n picked up the message from the con­sumers and let Break know. Consumers wa nted a slim ­

mer bar that they could snap. The Break people heard these complaints and acted. The blocks we re made thinner and less expensive.

Lovemarks hear messages of Love from Inspirational Consumers when everyone else hea rs compla ints.

Inspirational busybody In Spain, one Inspirational Consumer participated in the marketing of corporate g iant General

Mills. A fanatic lover of Old EI Paso Mex ican food knew that if he was to see his loved cuisine made more readily available, he was go ing to have to come to Genera l Mills' aid . The road to Sllccess, as he saw it, was paying more atten tion to the loca l situation. Why call it "Thick 'n

Chunky" sauce if rh e product was "like our Spanish traditional Pisto sauce, but cooked in a Mexican way?"

The Old EI Paso products were perceived as too spicy, roo difficult to cook, and reserved by the Spaniards for special occasions. But our In spirational Consum er was convinced that Mex ican food co uld be co nsum ed daily like Spanish paella.

Putting his thoughts down on paper he sent a list of suggestions to General M ills. He po inted out th e s im ila riti es be tween Mexican and Spanish cuisine and even offered to write a cookbook that wou ld convince th e Spaniards that Old EI Paso was easy to ptepare.

The result of this inspirational intervention? General Mills marketing managers wrote a textbook happy ending. They made the suggested changes. New labels, new product names and , yes, you guessed it, a cookbook written by Old EI Paso fanatics is to be published.

174 iovemarkA.

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Inspirational grandmothers

- . In spirational Consumers want their Lovemarks to be available, nOt just for themselves, bur for everyone. T hat is their power. W hen a grandmother in Turkey found that the red cap milk she used was hard ro get at the local sto re, she took anion. This Insp irationa l ConsUlner looked after her granddaughter, and red cap milk was the only product she felt was good enough for her precious charge. Unfortunately, she and her husband lived on the outsk irts of Istanbul, where red cap milk was hard ro get. She ta lked ro her local srore, rang the sales rep resentat ive of Slitas, and kept ringing until red cap mi lk was ava ilab le locally.

T his was fantas tic stuff, but th en she went that important step further. Concerned that her local sto re would stop stocking the milk if sales were low, she bega n a personal campaign. She deco rated the srore, recruited a group of volunteers to distribu te leaAets, and spread the news.

I beli eve there are Inspirational Consumers like this all over the wo rld just waiting for the call.

Inspirational rustlers Some Inspirational Consumers are so in Love with their brand they li terally can't keep their hands off them. Th is was what Becker's beer discovered in C hile when they introduced a powerful new character, a black sheep with the Becker's attitude.

It was an instant classic. Everybody fell in Love with the Becker's sheep. It became an icon. So much so that ou r people started rece iving ca lls from reta ilers sayi ng that their point­of-sale black sheep cutouts wete being stolen faste r than they co uld replace them'

O kay, I don't want to encourage people to strip sto res, bur that is th e so rt of attitude that ca n be harnessed for good. In spirat iona l Consum ers want to be close to th e brands th ey love. We need to get out th ere with them and feed off their energy.

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Inspirational snaps Any brand that wa nts to beco me a Lovemark gets no higher mark of recognition than the hours of time Inspirat ional Consume rs put into fan clubs. Of the many Love marks that have spro uted such loose but pass ion ­ate assoc iati ons, non e was more surpri s ing to me than th e Russian-made LOMO ca mera. Old-fashioned it may be. Strange design' Certa inly. Loved ' You better beli eve it. On the web there are 25 country, 80 personal, and seven commun ity sites for the LOMO, including th e iconic society www.lomography.com. LOMO fans eve n persuaded the St. Petersburg fa cto ry to restart production of the fabled LC-A. T hey visited the factory and pressured th e then-Mayor of St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin. No one stands in th e way of a Lovemark.

Inspiration rereleased Consumers who were Loyal Beyond Reason persuaded Techni cs to bring back th e fabled Technic 1200 decks. It turned our that OJs so loved this giant of the turntable world that they wou ldn't play with anything else. Now th e Technics brand approaches Lovemark sta tus for th e club sce ne. C heck out the T-shirts, bags, and slip mats bearing the unmista kable line drawin gs of th e Technics decks and other equipmenr.

176 ioV€mar~h

So roo w ith Kung Fu ice cream in Denmark.

A local radio OJ co nvinced over 6,000 Inspirational Co nsumers to co ntact loca l com pany Van den Bergh to rein state liquori ce-Aavored Kung Fu ice cream. FOllr yea rs breI'. in 2002, Van den Bergh launched a website where consumers could vO te for th eir favo rite ice cream. The inevitable

resu lt' Kung Fu , with 51,000 votes.

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Inspirational countdown Perhaps even more fanati cal than the LOMO lovers is the man who is probably th e ultimate Inspirational Consumer: Jim Jetters of Douglasville, Georgia. In 1999, Jim's Toyota Starlet was getting ready to

clock one million miles! Love his car? Sure did. The Starlet still had th e o riginal transmiss ion and engin e and. with regular maintenance, had been all but trouble-free. Jim wanted everyone to know it too.

His passion for his Toyota ea rned him a spot on th e " Late Show with David Letterman" and th e audience got to see the zeros click over for themselves .

And remem ber, Jim also owns a couple of Camrys, one with 240,000 miles on the clock and the o ther 100,000. Jim is counting down already.

Stepping up Inspirational Consumers are always passio nate, forever enthusiastic, so metimes fanati cal, and fiercely loyal. Tapping intO their emotional co nn ections can reveal the insights Lovemarks live off. T hey do tend to see everything in black-and-white, but this is JUSt the Love shining through.

Seeking out Inspirat ional Consumers and feeding their innovations back intO the design, manufacturing, marketing, distribution , and sales processes is simple common sense.

Busi ness finds it tough to give up the control relationship they have had with consumers. This mea ns they have bee n very reluctant to unleash the power of the Inspirational Consumer. We are now past unleashing. Those Inspiratio nal Consumers have been empowered hugely by th e Internet, and they are going to use their power in ways beyo nd anyth ing we can imagine. Get ready.

By getting close to Inspirat ional Consumers, I believe an y business can transform itself and step up to beco me a Lovemark .

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We have tapped the voices and opinions of Inspirational Consumers through our website www.lovemarks.com . Here 's a selection of what touches the passions and loyalties of people around the globe.

REMO The antithesis of blah, an on-line AJaddin's cave, rhe essence of must have and always, bur aiways ... full . Ie's a reminder of a misspent youth , rhe excitement of providing rhe perfect giFt , and knowing that the recipient will nor be able ro resist REMOing in return. Love is a REMO stripey thing!

[Manager. Auslr,llia j

Palm Pilot A tradesman came to my house to give a quote- bur when he pu lled out his Palm Pi lot to check his schedule I knew I would give him the job .... When you come across another Palm Pilot devotee you have found a friend , someone on your wavelength , someo ne who understands.

[Consuh:ulI, Aust ralia]

IKEA iii •••• I KEA is the place where fantasy becomes reality and where adults become children. At I KENs shop you can jump 0 11 rhe chairs, sleep in rhe beds, improve your Swedish, invent your house, find free pencils, and leave your babies at the playlleld ... and it all fits in your ca r!

[Student, Italy]

178 ~ovemarb.

Singapore Airlines I love the way they let me sleep through the (fa ntas tic) food service and then when I wake up in the midd le of the nigh t, they bring me a bowl of great noodles. Complete bliss-a nd no fuss.

I Consu lt~uu . U.K.]

A-Channel The impact A-Channel has on each communi ty it serves is phenomenal. It's nor just a TV Station- it serves as a public forum , a charitable o rganization, and a frie nd to every Ma niroban. A-Channel is LOVED because Love is what it offers. They offer great programming roo. There are several sta tions here in Canada that care about their audience, bur A-Channel is so sincere-it spreads its Love-vibe rhroughout the region. People all over Manitoba have "A"s on display 011 their homes, cars, kids, and selves and they are all homemade' These people are in Love .

[Producer. Canada )

iPod Wherever I go, as lo ng as my iPod is right there with me, I rock. It's nor just larirude. It's att itude. It's got rhe look of Love.

rAdwn i~ i ng cxec lI ti\'C, U.S.A. I

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Apple After 14 years I'm still in Love. To be honest, I don't know why I feel this way. I've simply never wanted [Q give rhe other olles a go. I don't even rcally know what the differences are .. " Well , apart from looks' I've been told both do almost the same things-o ne way or another. Bur wou ld (hey feel rhe same in the dark' Perhaps deep down I know it's the way you learn to handle them, how readily they respond to your needs, the way they do it. Or maybe there's more to it? Richard Briers/Geo rge Clooney. PC/A pple Mac. What sort of idiot would divorce their soul matc? Apple Mac- you arc my Lovemark.

The Statue of Liberty In times ullcerrain , past and

IDt:Signer, New Zealand ]

present, hu rnaniry invests her with- or does she already possess?- rhe srrengrh of a living icon, rhe hope of a li ving spirir. I've stood within her skin , climbed her winding stair, and surveyed her domain frolll her crown. The nobi li ty of her face, her steady gaze, and stro ng, straight stance keep the f.1 ith like nothing else on this planer. Words are not equal to the hope and f.1ith the Statue of Liberty perpetuates.

[Crcarino direcror, U.S.A. I

Barbie The famous fad of the 60s is now a serious Love mark thanks to the undying Love of young girls everywhere. Barbie taps into their dreams and hopes. She takes them by the hand partway into adulthood, but always in the safe guise of play.

(Ed iwr, New Zealand]

Aveda Like a bevy of kind , attentive, attractive sisters, my Aveda hair products sit waiting to do my hair right each morning. Dressed in their sweet, subdued colo rs, the team springs into action to smooth me, hold me, shine me up .... Patiently they work to disciplin e my un ruly mop 't il it gleams and hangs JUSt right. They wrap me up in their bright scents and send me out to f.:1ce the world, knowing deep down that I am loved.

[Educaror, U.S.A.]

Twinings ,'o\\NII'~' . Twinings teas have a special place '\ ""o,~ ,s

in my life. I'm JU St not a mornin g person, but if, as I wake up to that unftiendly light, I focus on the image of my breakfast tray with its fragra nt pot o fTwinin gs Russian Caravan tea, 1 can make that brave move out from under rhe covers, Just a cup clears my head, gently, nor with a crude rush of caffeine, just a sensitive push into reali ty, Twinings teas help me face the day ahead with courage.

[Mother, Auslralia l

Where the Wild Things Are The greatest children's book ever written. Everyone can ide ntify wi th Max because there's a littl e bit of him in all of us. At times we want (0 escape fro m something or someone, yet we know in ou r hearrs that the grass is greener where we stand. This book is absolutely timeless and thought-provoking. It will endure fo rever and will be read and re-read by children and their parents un t il the end of t ime,

(Entrepreneur. U.S .A.]

I'll Follow the Sun 179

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BBC It was only a few years ago tha t the B BC booked a one-way ticket to the U.S. on the QE2. It soon became a ray of ligh t amongst the thousands of bland television stat ions we are bombarded wi th here in rh e Scates. Since [hat rime, my own cultu ral horizons have grown and matured along with irs programming. Ever since crossing over to the "English channel," the word comedy has taken on a whole new meaning, "home decorating" has rurned into something of a sporr, and my garden (or whatever you call the rwo-by- two patch of grass in front o f my house) has blossomed. My Anglophilia has finall y been satisfied.

BMW motorcycles BMW mororcycles are a world (and a brand) apart . And so

[Legal assistant, U.S.A. ]

much morc (han a brand. It is a lifestyle, a way of living, a way of definin g myself and the world around me. When I am on my R 1150 GS, traveling through the wild and wonderfu l corners of Africa, (his incredible machi ne becomes my survival kit . And after hund reds of thousands of kilo meters, the "kit" becomes "comrade," and the bond becomes emotional. To me, this brand means freedom. Or breaking free. Escaping. But that is almost generic ro all b ike brands. The uniqueness of the BMW is that it is a motorcycle for the wild . Ir turns me, an ordinary man, imo an explorer, a p ioneer, a Lone Ra nger. It makes me more than I am.

[Author, South Africa]

180 iovemark ....

Dodge Viper A friend of my son lenr h im his Viper to go to a wedding. M y so n took me for a d rive. I have never experienced such an overwhelmin g transition- from passenger to copi lo t. This veh icle embraces you as you sit down , it makes you pan of it. If one were to get a ticket, it wouldn't be for go in g too fast, it wou ld be for fl ying too low. This isn't any car, (his is a T ime Machine.

] Farmer, Canad:l ]

Absolut it is sman , funn y, uendy. It always has a d ifferem s[Qry for us-in viting us to d iscover "what is the story (his (i me?" It

'I , -"'.

can be anyth ing it wanrs, transformin g any object, situation , or issue. I don't even dri nk vodka, but I love the Absolut b rand.

Technics Classic technology. T he 1200s are rhe original direct-d rive

[Designer, Romania]

turntable. Precision hi-fi equipment made to last. First produced in the ea rly 70s, small chan ges were made in the late 70s (a d ifferent moto r and a few new compo nents) and the MKJ 1 was released. This solid consuucrion , with the ab ility to tune tracking, weight, p itch, etcetera saw irs popu larity in crease. The first Disco and Bear DJ s looked for reli abil ity an d fl exibi li ty [Q scratchlloop/m ix music with other m usic and M Cs in clubs, and on the streets. The 1200 was the answer. As a workho rse, the audioph iles have to agree. T his is a fin e marr iage- precision equipment meers the rockers up[Qwn.

[DJ. U.K.[

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Fnac A specialist seller of books, CDs, and videos. F !lac has around 60 shops all over France. Their main competitors are rhe big retailers like Carrefollf that sell you everything cheaply-from a pound of ca rrots to TV sets. Fnac, on rhe other hand, has managed to c reate a special cl imate in their Stores and a pride in buying culrural products from them rather than from rhe big retaile rs. Their assista ll ts know abom everything. So much so, it becomes a challenge to question them about a field they don't know! And in every shop, you will find a space dedicated to exhibitions or artist interviews or a showcase of some kind . This makes Fnac not just a place where culture is sold- bur also a place where culture happens.

Original Tommy's Burger

[1-. 1anager. France1

~.

Every rime I'Ill back at Beverly and Ramparr, I can't help feel ing like I'm 16 aga in. This was the stop on the way home from Dodgers and Kings games, concerts, shopp ing, or anything else tha t would bring me to L.A. for the day. I've seen everything from wedding parties to gang fightS , Magic Johnson in his limo to a vagrant on C hri stmas day who ate a burger I gave him like it was the only thi ng he'd had ro eat in days. Tommy's has had an effect on me like my first kiss, or my first car; it's something that stays w ith YOLI no mat ter where YOll go. For me, Tommy's wi ll always be more than a burger; it's part of my Ii fe.

[Graphic designer. U.S.A.]

Birkenstock A great stOry: 19th century German cobbler Konrad Birkenstock refi nes the shape of his grandfather's clog molds and adds a Aexible arch suppon. It wins the su ppon of loca l doerors. Eighty years later, Konrad 's son Karl applies the next-generation innovation and takes the clog one step Funher- into a shoe. Voiffl-the Birkenstock sa ndal is born. I love the classic styling, and most of all 1 love the comfort. H eidi Klurn can keep her "designer collec tion" denim and rhinesto nes!

[Builder. ' I'he Netherlands]

Mikimoto I received my Mikimoro pearls as Q(", a gift from my boyfriend of three momhs baek in 1986. Immediately I knew he was a keeper. What a romantic, luxuriolls gift For a man to give a woman . Forever associated in my mind with images of the beautiFul Mrs. Jacqueline Kenn edy Onassis and the Queens of England. When J'm weari ng them rhey remind me of my husband's Love fat me. I cherish them. J married this man-and two child ren later, we remain vc ry much in Love!

]Wif,' :md mOther. U.S.A. ]

Tiffany's It's just a little aqua-blue box, but you know that in side is something absolutely special. Cou ld you ever open a Tiffany box w ithout a quiver of excitcment over what it contains? No other brand says more about how you Feel abou t someone (han this.

[Creative director. AUSII':lli:l [

I'll Follow lhc SUIl 181

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Tonga The best kept secret in the South Pacific, and probably the most welcoming place in rhe world. Deserted paradise islands, virgin beaches, acrive volca nos, coral lagoons, Jonah Lomu. Cu rrently applying for status as an international marin e park reserve. A famolls hisrory of independence and the site of the mutiny on rhe Bounty. Scuba diving visib ility for 50 meters. The only place in rhe wo rld that YO LI can watch humpback w hales d ance without ever having ro leave the beach.

Snaidero Snaidero was rhe first [0

understand that kitchens are

[M:nketcr. New ZCJ.b nd J

evolving from a place w here you cook and eventually ear, into a place where YO LI tran sform food into Love and affection for yourself a nd your fami ly and fr iends. Famous des igners have worked for them. Their new ES kitchen is made in slich a shape that it can be pur anywhere­even in front of a w indow. It feels smooth and functional a nd it follows the curves of your body when you Aex yourself in one of your favori te sports-cooki ng!

Coppertone J n the 60s rhe fragralH , exotic smell of this lotion , the sun ,

ICEO , Ital y]

and the ocean , libe rated our coasral backwater. C losing your eyes on a lonely beach in a bikini, you could dream and escape to America, where it was all happening!

ICompany director. New Zea land l

182 2 oVEmClr~,1

Toyota Here in Egypt I see loved Toyota pick-up trucks every day. Paint jobs don't last well in this cl imate w ith sand being such a big problem. It upsets locals that own Toyota pick-ups to find tha t the large Toyota sign at the back of the veh icle wears our. The answer, for many. is to painr the name "Toyota" in bright colors over the original sign. That way YO ll can show you r Love for your pick-up trllck and the name Toyota at the same ti me. These brightly painted signs on the back of p ick-lip trucks are everywhere to be seen in this city of Cairo and all other parts of Egypt.

[Retailer. Egypd

Campbell's My Lovemark is the ultimate comforr food-Cam pbell 's tomato sou p and gri lled cheese on toast. On a gloomy

FJ" .=

Tomato ....... our)

day, lou nging on the couch drinking soup is the very best cure for th e blues. Cam pbell 's soup is more than a brand. Okay, so it was immortalized by Andy Warhol, but that was simply a recognition of irs permanelH place as an icon. H ere am I, in Swi t2:erland , a coulHry with some of the fin est foods in the world ... fondues and raclettes are brilliant and they're comforr foods in their own righ t". But on th is foggy win ter day all [ desire is a big bowl of Ca mpbell 's tomato soup and toasted cheese.

IAdmin is trator, Swi tzerland]

Google Coogle Google is my best friend' Google is my best fri end! Google is my best friend! Google is my best friend' Google is my best friend'

lCopywriter. Turkeyl

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Concorde

A spectacular symbol of technologica1 achievemen t and by far the most beautiful aircraft in the sky. T he sleek, delicate hull and that complex wing shape. No other machine makes people stop and gape as it passes. No orhcr machine retains it's own singular identity-people don't ever say "There's a Concordc," JUSt (he one we lovc-the Concorde.

Doc Martens Docs signified teen angst and rebel lion for me and all the

[Engineer, Francel

other kids growi ng up in suburbia. W hen I started wearing them my parents didn't get it. Fo r girls, Docs showed the wo rld that for the first time "cool" meant morc [Q you than "prctry" and you were developing your own sense of style. True, all your fr iends wo re the same shoes, so your style wasn't necessarily original, but it was gcrring there. At least I didn't dress like my parents!

Breyers To sum up my feelings, I must quore Ren (of "Ren & Stimpy"):

[Stylist, U.S.A. I

"Oh! My beloved icc cream!" All that Breyers lacks is what makes it sooooo good. Eating Brerers is akin (0 eating homemade-from the way it melts. to the way irs edges "crisp" up in root-beer Aoars. As a premium ice cream it's incomparable!

[Accountant, U.S.A.I

Ermenegildo Zegna

Just a dream. The perfect wear for rhe perfeer man. JUSt for a few men. W he n I d ie I'll want [Q wea r an Ermcnegildo Zegna suit so I can be in heaven with all the Ermenegildo Zegna angels.

[Salesman , Costa Rica ]

Bundaberg ot all ginger beers are created

equal-but most are. For my loor and loyalty, one towers above the rest. The distinctive, yellow label is a century-old echo of mystery. Set against the deep brown of the bottle, it hin ts of a subtropical legacy of toi l and dedication rowards perfecting rhe ultimate dri nk nirvana. The burst of effervescence lIpon opening is an aural orgy. And the taste of a cold o ne-Woah! A dance o n the tonsils that slays thirst and jllSt keeps going down. Words don't do justice. W hich says it all really.

[journalist, Australia ]

Steinway ~ The piano chosen by over 90 ~ percent of concen pianists is one of rhe great musical Lovcmarks. 5teinway pianos are lovingly polished, tllned, and cared for through generations. A 5reinway brings the past, prescnt, and fuwre together with rhe mysterious power of music.

(Car salesman. U.S.A. ]

['11 Follow rhc Sun 183

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Five things to do tomorrow

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At Saatchi & Saatchi, we've been putting Lovemark ideas into practice. We want to make as many Lovemarks for our clients as we can. We know that any business that is not creating Lovemarks is simply not creating value. Here are case studies on Olay, Brahma, Lexus, Cheerios, and Tide from our ideas people from around the globe. Each one of these stories dramatically demonstrates the power of harnessing the Lovemark characteristics: Olay using Mystery to launch into a tight market; Brahma wrapping up the beer market with the power of storytelling; Lexus dealers building empathy with customers; Cheerios and Tide repositioning themselves as consumer Icons.

@ o LAY. A Mystery story W hat do YOLI do when you are so successful that your loyal band of consumers don't want you to change? When you know you are limited by the category, but the ones who love you most won't let you move?

This was O lay in 1999. A great product , well-loved , and the leader in mass-market sales of mid-priced moisturizers.

But onc huge, new area remained for Olay to break into: the prestige skin -care market- th e wo rld of supermodels, movie stars, and beauty queens. A sector that

186 2ovemark",

accounted for nearly 40 perce nt of the global skin-care market. And , criti ca lly, a step up [Q premium prices .

The stakes in this market are high. With them come the desire to stay young. Or, even more profoundly, the quest to fend off mortality.

The pres tige secto r had been dominated

for years by th e Big Beauty Industry Players. They played hard. T heir advertising­arrogant, self-ass ured, confident- played on consumers' hopes and drea ms. Surely, prestige consumers whispered to themselves, rhe stuff you pay a lot of mo ney for is more likely to work. And the stuff you pay less for ' Got to be a little less effecrive. Millions of women throughout the world had lisrened to this "logic" for decades .

The prestige sector also had se rvice on th eir side. Deparrn1enr stores are where the expensive luxury brands reign. T hat's where the beauty co nsultants ("dragon ladi es" with ve rmilion lipsti ck and perfect skin ) lie in wait, ready to grab a woman's hand and persuad e her that the product is perfect for her.

Olay, on the other hand , lived in rhe "self-select" section of the market- pharmacies, drugstores, even supermarkets. There, with no help in sight, a woman had to feel something about the product before she got anywhere near the sto re.

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T he power of 1 and 2 . . .

Olay entered this co mplex situation with a lo ng and va lued hi story w ith wome n ...

and a trump card. A new anti -agin g crea m with supe rb performance. Plus, P&G kn ew they co uld make thi s superior level of perfo rm ance access ib le to more women than ever before. T hey could , in some cases, offer th eir crea m at up to $ 100 less than compa rab le products sold in departm en t sto res .

At Saatchi & Saatchi, we figured there had to be a way to capture the best of both worlds .

1. To up-sell the tradi tional "self-select"

co nSllm er, a nd 2. ro enti ce the prestige consumer off her luxury- brand pedesta l ...

... equals 3: Enter a whole new beauty

opportunity, masstige! Prestige products for rhe mass marker.

Respect before Love The first job was to make sure that this fantastic product was greeted with the Respect it deserved .

To take O lay into the hea rt of the prestige skin -care market, the credi bili ty of teal opinion fanners was cri tica l. T hese are rhe bea uty ed itors, rhe mavens, and the media types. T hose super-stylish, trendsetting fashionistas from New York and London.

But how to get these high-Ayers to listen ' Our team knew that if we sa id, "H ere's

a mo isturizer that is proven ro be more effective than all those other brands ... and it's ftom O lay," we'd get a "yeah, right" kind of response-a nd that wo uld be that.

What was needed was a breakthrough insight that would not only make these professional inAuencers notice the product,

but also fa ll in Love with it.

We looked to Lovemarks and found just the thing : Mystery.

T he aura of the unknow n The first task was to cOll vin ce the opinion­lead ing ed itors to trial the new product, but without the brand name. They agreed. The resu lt was spectacula r.

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"I call it amazing effects because it does exactly what it says it will do. I am hooked. " "Fantastic . Where can L get more?" "To my

amazement the area under my eyes isn't as

crinkly as it usually is," "I am really starting to glow now. When I put it on my face it fecl s like a part of my skin that I have been missing. It is nice [Q be reunited with a youthful glow again. I'm happy'"

Mystery raised interest and expectations. Testers really did fall in Love with the product.

And although they were surprised when they found out who was behind the Mystery. they were not disappointed.

Our intuition was that the same enthusiastic

support could be created with consumers as well. A series of trials and tests co nfirm ed rhe hunch that Mystery was an inherent part of the success of this Aedgling product.

Perceptions of the value of the product-with and without the association of the Olay name-were very different.

Without the O lay nam e, so me women (Old

us th ey would be wi lling to spend up to

$60 for th e product. That was th ree times more than the price Olay intended taki ng to market!

188 ioV€mar~h

With the Olay name attached, the acceptable price point came way, way down.

Clearly, whi le associations with the O lay name were very positive, it was nor a

brand that could ex ist alone outside of mid-tier pricing. For this new p rod uct ro break into the prest ige market it needed something more. And so th e laun ch of Total Effects.

To the power of seven In developing the concept of Total Effects, Mystery was a guiding light. Take the lise of myrhs and icons. The promise to "Fight the 7 Signs of Aging" evoked all th e iconic associations of the number seven. As a visual

identifier, we created a graphic of the number seven that was used for th ree years

around the globe.

T he m o me nt of Intimacy- and tru th

Equipped with th e expert testimony of the beauty industry inAuencers, Total Effects was ready to launch and to take on th e prestige sector. The campa ign started in the hea rt of the beauty business: Vogue magazin e.

Real women who'd participated in the initial trials were recruited and photograph ed. The spreads were beautiful- but, cruciall y, beli evable. The Tota l Effects launch was a phenom enal success, proving the ab ility of Olay to attract rh e elusive prest ige consumer.

Sales were 53 percent high er in so phisticated prestige markets such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

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And the figu res kept on growing. long after the initial marketi ng campaigns were over. Unlike 92 percent of new product introductions. Total Effects' sales grew in (he second year, and even more dramatically in the thi rd year.

Olay has always been respected and loved. With the add iti on of Mys tery and lntimacy. it was also abl e to make a dramati c leap in price po int with the launch of Total Effects.

g rmm:JM~ Brazil-where the beer comes from Everyone in Brazil knows Brahma beer. After all . they have had well over a century to get acquai nted . Brahma was founded in 1888. and has built its position to be the leading brewer in the nation. The name says it all : Brahma is "hee r. "

In 1990. most Brazilians would have said Brahma was a Lovcmark.

Brahma was th e lead ing brand . with 35 perce nt market share. A ycar later, Brahma decided nOt just to be out front . but to make everyo ne k now about it. They adopted th e line 'The N umber I. " Co nfid ent. assertive­and foc used on th e beer and its leadership of the market. Troubl e was. there was nothin g in there about the peopl e who drank it.

Seven years later. Brahma had lea rned the big Lovemarks lesson:

Love cannot be taken for granted.

T he line "The Nu mber 1" crea ted confusio n. Was it th e first beer to be made in Brazil. the best beer. th e leading beer' Who knew and. morc and more, who ca red? Brahma suffe red a hefty 11 percent drop in market share.

Facing up to the truth . Brahma understood it had become toO traditional for the young people who consumed it-their largest market. Fo r many. it was no longer about having a good time or self-indulgence.

Brahma's return to the embrace of younger consumers is a tex tbook Lovcmarks story.

To get back in touch. Brahma and F/Nazca Saa tchi & Saatchi reached for Sensuali ty and . more specifica lly. for sound.

In rh e search for a moment of real emotional

con nection with th e Brahma drinking

experience. the sound of a ca n being opened was perfect.

"Tsss" became the sound of good times, the sound of anticipation, and the sound of Brahma. The power of sound as an iconic element in a cam­paign had immediate results.

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"Tsss" beca m e part of the vernacular of

young Brazilian drinkers. Walk into a bar. Make the so und. You get what you wanted

without saying a singl e word. You were

in stantly part of a club of fans. "Tsss" beca me an ico n in its own right.

Bralllna had nailed sound , but did not ignore

the other senses. Specially decorated cans were produced for popular Brazilian parties and

festivals. Touch was picked up on with thermo­

sensitive stickers that changed color as rhe beer cooled. And Brahma was sold in champagne­

sized bottles in a stunning visual surprise.

Indi vidually these senses-based actions were smarr , bur more important was what they

achieved together. Brahma was dramatically repositioned as ph ys ical, with excitement in

irs sOllnd and (Ouch , and as a n esse ntial pa rt

of rhe action. Now that was so methin g that

every yo ung Brazilian could relate to on an

emotional level.

Having created a physical bond through the

senses, F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi and Brahma looked to utilizing more Lovemark

characteristics-great sto ries, mythic characters. empathy, and pass ion.

As Benjamin Franklin once famously remarked, "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

That was ce rtainl y th e spirit that spa rked Brahma's runle ca mpaign , one of the most

190 ~oV€mar~h

successful marketing ideas to co nn ect

with Brazilians.

The turtle spoke to the hearts of Brazilians. The turtle was irreverent, colorful, surprising .. . and he loved to party. This was a character that reflected every young Brazilian's ideal image of the national personality.

The original commercials featured the [Unle's

efforts to lind a Brahma beer on a hot,

dusty road. The tunic was an animated character interact ing with real people and

real situation s. This freed up the ca mpaign

to heighten the act ion on-screen, and w make absurd juxtapositions.

The nrst turrle spot was a big hit. People couldn't get enoug h of the thirsty turtie who hij acks a truckload of beer in his quest

to get a Brahma and to get up-close and intimate with som e bea uti ful wo men at

the same time.

F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi and Brallma under­

stood that beer was part of the consumer's

emotional landscape. That being the case, they reasoned , the more Lovemark elements that could be drawn on in th e co mm ercial,

the more potential there would be for an

emotional response. Working through the

key Lovemark qualiti es, the turtie and his world are rich in Lovemark wuchpoints.

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Mystery: The crearion of th e turtle's

personaliry was inspired. This was how Brazilian yourh rhemselves wanted to be. Irreve rent, inclin ed ro show off, decisive, very successful ar achieving goa ls rhat are darin g and tin ged wirh dan ge r.

The sto ries of the turtle's escapades we re classicall y constructed. The runle has a problem : he is hot and tired and trapped in an unwelcomin g environm ent. H e sees an

opportuni ty and se izes it. He thus rea ps the reward of a cold Brahma beer.

In 1868, the scholar Georges Polti under­rook an ex tensive review of wo rld literature. and concluded rhat th ere are o nl y 36 fundam ental stori es . The turtle's daring narrati ve of problem-opponunity-action­success must be one of th e world's favorites.

Ir taps in to rhe drea ms of every hum an being: rhe sea rch for good fortune.

The turtl e rhen becam e a hugel y popular character in his own ri ghL An icon for

Brazili an attitud e and humor. So intense was rhe pass ion for rh e tu rrl e rhar hi s creator, Fabio Fernandes, became concern ed rhar rh e rurtl e mi ght beco me bigger than the brand.

Sensuality: The rurt le is highly ph ysical. He may have beco me a symbol of thirsr, bur hi s juggling and balancing of the beer cans delighted eve ryone wirh irs crazy skill and dexrerity. As fo r so und , the turtle's delighred "ii iih" victory cry becam e part of rhe Brazilian vernacular.

Inti mac)': The runl e's perso nality res ponded to what consum ers wanted most in a fri end.

The level cou ld be exaggerated, of course, bur humor a nd irreverence were highly va lued by younger consumers. They felt rhe rurtle was on e of them.

After rhree rurtl e SpOts, F/Nazca Saarchi & Saatchi felr rhe series had done its work. The cli ent had orher ideas. Enchanted by rhe success of th e turtle and the emotional

response it had creared wirh rhe people of Brazil , Brahma asked for one more runle spor.

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T his one would be special. The co mm ercial would support the Brazilian soccer team, whi ch was playing to qualifY for the 2002 FI FA World C up in Korea and Japa n. At the time, no one rated them as potential winners of the C up.

The new spot encouraged everyone in Brazil to support the underdog Brazi lian eleven .

As Brazil's chances improved, it was almost inevitable that another turtle spot was called for.

T he turtle had to keep goi ng with the tea m itself. H e had gone from being a mascot to a lucky charm.

Against th e odds, the Brazilian tea m wo n th e World C up- and Brahm a was with them all the way. Many Brazili ans could not help but give the turtle so me small credit for this remarkable victory.

The effect of creating such a stro ng emotional ti e with the co nsume r had dram at ic resu lts

for Brahma. The tunle ad, with its hum o r, personality, and empathy, ach ieved an incredible 59 percent awareness during the Wo rld C up. T his represented an average increase of 7 percent over the fu ll cam paign. Brahma's brand consideration also increased by 4 per­cent; Brahma had achieved the highest recall and prefere nce in a ll product categori es in Brazil. During the World Cup, audience recall peaked at just under 50 percent- a massive increase frolll rhe morc usual 5 to 15 percent.

192 iovemark ....

©, EXIIS

A new luxury car for America? You've got to be kidding! It is hard to believe now, but as recently as the 1980s, the automotive giant, Toyota , was lit rle known in the United States. Back then , the co mpany was known as a manufact urer of well -priced , sInall cars. And cve n in th e 80s, "made in

Japan ," the great put-down of the 60s, st ill lurked in corners of the trade.

In Japan, Toyota ru led, but the compa ny needed ex pansion outside th e Pacifi c. The Am eri ca n car market was huge. Winning the hearts of Ame ri can s was

crucial if Toyota was to mee t its growth expecta tions, and Toyota fully intended to do JUSt that.

Did they do it? They certainly did. During the past few years, Toyota's sales and profits have climbed .

T hey have achieved th eir goal to beco me the most profitable automotive company in the wo rld, a nd a rc now pursuing a n even

higher goa l: to become the wo rld leader in globa l 3uw morive sales .

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A big parr of rh is success can be ried to rhe

creation of LeXlIS, a luxury Toyora brand

specifi cally bui lr for Ameri ca ns. The intro­

ductio n of LeXLls demo nstrates rh e critical

importa nce of local connections and insight

in develop in g powerful global brands. Ir also

highlighrs how relarion ships-th e beating

hea rt of a Lovema rk- can be th e foundarion

fo r long-te rm competiti ve advantage.

How Toyota turned the tide of consumer opinion from mistrust, through Respect, to Love is a classic Lovemarks story.

Leading with the local

In rhe 7 0s a nd 80s, Toyo ra had rise n to

rh e challenge of co nvin cin g a nat ion of

Americans, in Love w ith American cars, [Q

buy and dri ve Japanese. Sa les of small cars

were booming, and Toyota had begun to

di versify th e lin eup. But th e introd uction of

LcxlIs- a lu xury caT and a luxury distr ibution channel thar wou ld take o n the big European

and Ameri ca n manufacturers-was, ( 0 say the least, a bold move. T he initial reaction '

Scorn a nd d isbeli ef.

Toyota knew the Lexus was up to the job

of dom inat ing the luxu ry car marker. T hey

also kn ew th ey had some powerful allies in

rh e task of co nvinc ing America ns to c hange

their rrad irio nal views- ca r dealers. Such was

th e Respecr rhar Toyora had built up w irh

irs own ca r d eaiers, as well as that of th e

auromorive industry in general , they were

co nfident that peopl e woul d cl amor for rh e

cha nce to acqu ire a Lexus franchi se. And

they d id.

M ike Sulli va n , a die-hard car sales profes­

siona l from Santa Monica, Californi a, had

wo rked with Volkswagen , H yunda i, a nd

Isuzu. In 1988, he heard abour Toyora's

pl ans to establish a separate Lex us chann el:

"There were literally thousands of applicants. Without seeing the product or knowing much about it, other than that it was Toyota's upscale division, people were throwing themselves at the Lexus rep for the opportunity to be awarded a franchise.

" We gOt in th e long line and starred negoti­

ating. We jumped in a nd spent, at rhe rime,

a lor of mo ney for a very excitin g 'm aybe.'

Ir was so rr of blind faith - in hindsight,

a labor of Love."

W ith so m any d ealers kee n [Q co rn e o n­

boa rd , Toyota could affo rd to be selecti ve.

Und ersta ndin g the powe r of relat io nships,

rhey saw rh eir dealers as business parrners

whose own success was inregral ro rhar of

rh e co mpa ny itself. Toyota saw them as

people with w hom they intended to bui ld

a mutually be nefi cial, lo ng- term relation ship.

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So how did Toyo ta select their future partners' "T his was before all the surveys, and it was sort of g Ut instinct as ro who wanted ro move forward and change the industry with them," says Sullivan. "We simply embarked on a 'no ful es' serv ice situation. Of course, th e Lex lis was an unbelievable car. But more importantly, Toyo ta didn't say no to us. Eve n if th ere was a problem, they'd say, 'Well, fi x it for the customer, and yo u and I'll work out th e detail s later.' They d idn't ti e our hands with havin g to argue with rhe customer over what

was perceived (0 be wrong. If the ( US(Omer was upset, we were supposed to fix it. And we did ."

Dan Davidson has been with Toyota sin ce he started washing their cars in 1968. Dan was anoth er one of the lucky few to be welcomed into th e LeXl!s deal er fo ld. "Toyota kept the number of deal e rs to a minimum, which allows liS to sell quire

a few ca rs per ourler, and for us ro be profitable. With that profitability we're able to give th e customers that littl e bit ex tra. And we're ab le to keep reinvestin g in the service side of Ollf business."

C usto mers own the brand Toyota's corporate focus o n "QDR"-Quality, Durability, Reliability-is legendary. These elements of Respect are now rablesrakes in rh e J uromorive industry.

If everyone is respected ! everyone is the same. The task then is to step up

194 iovemarkA

beyond Respect and form a relationship created out of emotional connections. This sort of bond requires sensational service.

With a cO lllmitme nt ro serv ice, LeXlls

dealers se t new sta ndards that other

dealers struggle to match. Does it wo rk ' You only need to ask LeXlls owne rs. Serv ice has beco me a hallmark of th e

LeXl!s brand.

Mike Sullivan endorses th e "littl e th ings" that add up to a big difference. "The free ca r washes . th e fresh ro lls, the Starbucks coffee. the leather chairs with the Internet service ... there's no one tangible thin g. It beco mes the who le experience."

At Longo LeXlls, there are no customers, only guests, states Tom Rudnai . "We rreat every guest like a guest in our ho me. We have rel at ionships that grow with eve ry vis it to our facility and we are very respectful of our guests' ti me. We wa nt to meet and exceed ex pectations every time a guesr comes to Lo ngo. "

Dan Davidso n, too , makes superio r se rvice a focus of his bus in ess. "We offer free pick-up an d delivery when servicin g o r purchasing, via Aatbed. And all minor services are performed by rov ing technicians at the custo mer's home o r office. allowing the custo mer to make th e most of eve ry moment in their busy day.

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"Say so mebody buys a car fro m us, and they dri ve it home, and a few days later a scratch appears on the vehicle, or it gets a crack in the windshield , or a Rat tire. T hen the Clisro mcr calls liS up, and there's one of

two thin gs we ca n do. We can say no . and make the guest feel un comfortable. Or we ca n replace the windshield or the tire, and it may COSt us a cou ple of hundred bucks. And we clo that. We say, no problem-when wo uld yo u like it' Do you need a loaner ca r' We'll take ca re of that G uest. We have an advocate for life."

Listening Beyond Reaso n LeXlIS dealers offer a conduit [0 the consumer­

but as in all successful relat ionsh ips, the co mmunica tion is two-way. Dealers are

regularly consulted about improvements. They're often ca lled on ro coordinate custOm er foc lis gro ups) whi ch are morc like fami ly gatherin gs, to gather va luable product feedback.

But unlike some other manufacturers, Toyota takes this feedback onboard. This generates a feeling of trust that perpetuates the willingness of dealers and consumers to give back to the company-a virtuous cycle that keeps the relation­ship alive and growing .

Says Dan Davidson, "Toyota's Lexus people listen, they truly listen. Other co mpanies probably conduct the same sort of meetings. But wha t do they do with the in formation ' You might as well not have bothered with rhe meeting, because rhe manufacturer is

just go ing ro go down the path they're already going.

" Lexus is different. Every single ca r that co mes our, we're asked to contribute our

knowledge to its development. T hey want ro know the things that are really important ro the consumer. "

We've lea rned a great deal from participating in the Lexus srart-up. Like Saarch i & Saatchi , Toyota believes that Nothing is Imposs ibl e. And li ke us, they roo understand the power of Loyalty Beyond Reason- the very loya lty they created with Lexus owners.

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Out of the bowl and into the heart of the family Breakfast is big busin ess in the U.S. T hink $8 billio n a yea r. And that's the ready-tO­cat ccreal catego ry alo ne. How much do

Americans love their cereal? Beyo nd reaso n. And, at the heart of this passionate morning­time Love affair is General Mi lls' cheery little 0 in its bright yel low box.

When breakfast cereals first appeared on American tables in the 1 940s, C hee rios was there. At that ti me, cereal was a

co mmod ity product based on grai n forms. Co rn Flakes and Rice Krispies fro m Kell ogg's. W heaties, Corn Puffs, and C heerios from General Mills. Back then, these five origin atO rs shared a powerful 75 percent of th e cerea l market.

Today the cereal busi ness is packed with ove r 250 brands, and market share has declined accord ingly. But in spite of thi s dramati c shi ft, C hee ri os re main s a

Number One, a Lovemark th at has li ved th rough the histO ry of ce real itself. This is a brand thar has built such powerful emotional co nnect io ns w ith consume rs

that any Ameri can from six to 60 would

196 Rovemar~/"

recognize its d istin ctive shape and most

likely recall having eaten C hee rios ce real at some time in his or her li fe.

COll1modit) to hrand How d id C heerios do it? How d id the cereal manage to thrive in this fie rcely co mperiti ve category? To begin with , Genera l Mills realized ea rl y on that food purchases are rarely ever about what's in the box, the package, or the can.

The deciding factor is about what the consumer needs in his or her life.

Back when cerea l was still a commodity, co nsumers eating breakfast wanted little informatio n beyond what type of gra in they were con suming. W hea t, ri ce, o r oars

was abo ut as far as things we nt. Later,

peop le needed to know just what d iffe ren­tiated one g ra in from ano th er. and breakfast eaters began to choose from a wider ra nge of criteria: taste, texture,

color, size, and shape. Some exceptiona ll y effective advertising byli nes were born at the breakfast table. T he great "Corn C runch" and "Snap! C rack le! Pop!"

Ge neral Mills was one step ahead. They tOok their messages further- our of th e bowl, and in to th e lives of their core

consumers. Focusing strongly on "higher" values of health and nu tr it ion, C heerios was established as both releva nt and salient fo r ad ults. Pediatricians reco mmended C heerios as the ideal first solid food fo r

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babies. Studi es showed that children who

ate a hea lthy brea kfast did better in school. And oar bran was shown (0 reduce

cholesterol and promote a health y hea rt. G rea t nev{s for rhe dominant oat cerea l

on rhe marke r.

o is f()[ Optillml11 The rat ional. hea lth-ben efit message worked to establish Chee ri os firm ly in

rh e minds of co nsume rs as "The One and Onl y" who le-gra in ce rea l that was best for

the fam ily. So far. so good. This powe rful . produc t-based pro position sustained

Cheerios through two generations, position­ing it as the N umber Th ree brand in th e

ca tegory. w ith an average 3.3 share.

But in the late 1990s. Gene ral Mills. along with rhe other big cereal ma nufacture rs,

became alarmed . 1998/99 had marked the third stra ig ht year of sa les declin e for break­fast cereals-the lo ngest decline in the histo ry

of th e busi ness.

To make matters worse, new cereal competitors continued to proliferate, dangerously eroding the big players' share. And to shore up losses, many of the key cereal manufactur­ers moved away from long­term, brand-building initiatives, pouring marketing dollars into tactical sales promotions and price incentives.

Advisin g General Mills. Saatchi & Saa rc hi

convinced the company that emotion . not

information , was the key to long-term success. The way forward was ro transfo rm

Chee rios from a breakfast cereal into a member of the fam ily. The campaign would

focus on rhe person most closely associated with the emotional moments of breakfast

time- Mother. From extensive research, and years of speaking to her with rational messages. Saatchi & Saatchi and General Mi lls already

knew what was goi ng on in her head. The next step was (0 capture her heart.

I~rand to [mem.r!"

A new campaign was created to build on

the Respect Cheerios had gai ned. adding

a crucial new in gredienr. Love.

Rational product cla ims were ca refully

exam ined and translated into how a mother

might respond to them emo tionally. T his understanding form ed th e basis for a series

of T V Spots and print wo rk showin g

Chee rios in intimate fami ly siruations .

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In the se ri es, C heerios was presented as emotional support ro a mother's innate sense of nurturing, as well as pervasive in her children's growing up. Chee rios srood in as both the opportunity ro connect with in the fam ily, and the child's need ro fly. And the ad ult-focused , hea lthy-heart message became th e brand 's recognition that all parents wanr ro be there for the ir loved ones as they grow up.

Bigger than breakfast T he results of the campaign were dramatic. Sales grew an average of 4. 1 percent in volume, representin g a yea r-an-year in crease of about $75 million. And share leapt ro an average of 4.4 perce nt, taking C heerios from Number Three ro Num ber One in breakfast cerea ls.

By positi oning Cheerios as a member of the famil y, Saatchi & Saatch i and General Mi ll s were able ro captllre the emotiona l power behind the brand's powerful heritage. The result was rhe transformation of co mmon oats to an enduring ex pression of a moth er's Love for her family.

198 Rov€mar~1.I

Time and Tide Ge neratio ns of Americans grew up with the smell and feel of clothes washed in Tide. The box with th e bull 's-eye was emotio nally co nnected to the memori es of fa milies throughout America. The crispness of a fa ther's shirr. The smell of fresh, Tide­cleaned linen desperately missed in the cold bed of a college dorm. Sheets flapping on the family line. Tide was the scent of a fa mily that ca red.

These were the fam ily-o riented values that had carried the Tide brand for decades. Si nce 1946, when Procter & Ga mble introduced the world 's first synthetic laundry detergent, Tide has led its category far ahead of its nearest co mpetitor.

But by the late 90s, Mom was more likely to be up to her elbows in paperwork than suds, and nosta lgia was no longer powerful enough ro grow the brand. I n a new era of instant gratification , sales sragnated. Tide was startin g to be perce ived by consumers as a mass- marke r prod uct, out-of-touch with the realiti es o f everyday lives.

P&G knew that Tide could still work sensual wo nders in the laundry. They also knew that washing clothes remained a ritual act of caretaking, an activity that helps keep fa milies fun ctional and in harmony.

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Four issues stood out. How to: • increase the releva nce of th e brand • re-establish the close relat ionship th at

Tide had forged with the famil y • make Tide a Lovemark for the

co ntem po rary generation and beyond • demonstrate that Tide understood

the very diverse needs and values of consumers

T he challenge was to get intimate with a whole new group of co nsum ers.

The first thing that P&G and Saatchi & Saatchi did was to take a long, hard look at the lives of what P&G affectionately calls" Moms."

It beca me apparent that, whil e fami ly was no less imponant to them than it had been for their own mothers and grandmothers, the way they cared for th eir fa mi lies had changed. And it had changed radica lly.

Moms on the move Today's wo men li ve their daily li ves o n a punishing schedu le. They deliver th eir chi ldren to and from school. Their days are often packed wi th events and eX(facur­ricular acttvittes. Then there is the planning and participating in famil y events on the weekends and runn ing the househo ld. Added to this marathon is th e fact that the majority of mothers work full- or part-time. They live in their cars. They're constantly on the move.

C learly, Tide cou ld no lo nger ta lk to

these women in the way it once did-she d idn't stand still long eno ugh! T he brand would have to catch her on the run- out in rhe wo rld. nor in the home, where its adve rti sing messages had tradition ally reached her.

The message wou ld have to be clear and qui ck. A message that showed how the brand empathized with her hecti c and demanding lifestyle.

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Po in t of Dirt

All mothers a re familiar wi th the placem ent

of point of sale ca nd ies, gum , and small

rays at the checko ut w ithin tantali zin g reach of sm all eyes and hands. The easy

pu rchases yo u just can't resist in a Illoment of weakness.

To ta lk with Tide's co nsumers, we d eveloped

rh e " Poi n t o f D in " ca mpaign . T hi s, we

figured , would rep resent all th e class ic situa tio ns w he re spill age a nd stai nin g

occur. I n th e ca r. O n th e bus. At the pizza

pa rl or. A m yriad o f p laces .

The strategy was to have Tide speak to mothers at the Point of Dirt-and to reassure her that in that instant, Tide would be right alongside her to clean up the mess.

T he adve rt ise ments that Saatchi & Saa tchi

created were light-hea rted. Optimisti c.

A musing. Ads that b rought smi les to the faces of mo thers and everyone else who

identified their own personal sticky situa­

tio ns w ith the sto ries o n the billboa rds.

As one consu mer told us: "Everybody's been the re. It's so app rop riate. "

AJ10rhcr: " I thin k it's mo rc personal when they speak [Q YO ll at that mo ment. It's almost as if they knew what YO LI wcre doing. "

200 iovemarbA

The ca mpaign was a rare and successful

fusio n o f med iu m and message. An in tr igu­ing bl end of info rm atio n and Intimacy.

The rewa rd ' Sa les showed an imm ed iate

leap, and con tinued to grow yea r-on-year, in so me markers up ro 25 pe rcen t.

Now that's a drama tic rurn around fo r a

brand that was funnin g O ll t of energy. By listening to rh e co nsumer, we creared a

very special mo ment of Inrimacy- a mo ment thar reveals emot io nal und ersranding. A

moment thar proved ro be rhe fou nda rio n

of return ing a brand- T ide-to its status as a true and enduring Lovcmark.

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T he past informs, but it ca nn ot be changed. My concern is

th e future. How ca n business navigate self-i nterest towards social interest? How can we mobi lize th e innovations born of corporate Resea rch and Development for the be nefit of many? How ca n busin ess crea te a tipping point that se ts a course for human well-being'

Any business Illust make sense eco nomicall y, bur the re are now

new imperat ives. It must also be enviro nmenta ll y and socially sustainable over time. The planet, people, and profits. Al l for one and one for all. We need to guaran tee ro our children (hat

the foundations arc in place for sustainable enterprises across

all dimensions.

Ca n business do this ' [ believe it can. It sure has the credentials! As I rell business students arou nd the world , busin ess is the engi ne of human progress. If yo u wa nt to change the world, yo u're in the right place. W hy? Because the people who will lead the innovation and crea te the opportunities that build and transfo rm li ves wi ll be the ones who dream about, obsess over,

and plan the Row of goods, ideas, and ex peri ences.

And what is it that makes the heart of business beat? People. T he desi re of people a ll over the world to choose products, se rvices, and experi ences that satisfY the ir needs, fir th ei r values. engage their e mo tions, and respond to th eir des ires.

To substitute funct iona l over-the-counte r transactio ns for the

wa rm th of ge nuine emotio nal co nnections. W he n they find such co nnections, I have seen co nsu mers nansform from fi ckle

brand-hoppers to fi ercely loyal advocates. As YOll know fro m C hapter 13, I ca ll these people Inspirational Consumers-the passionate guardians of a Lovemark .

T his is the new reali ty. A wo rld that not only dema nds that busin esses be up- front and n3nspa re nt, but also in sists that consumers be truly at the center. In such a world , producers

who embrace consumers and communities by bu ilding Respect and insp iring Love ca n anticipate prem iu m rewards. Producers who don't wi ll be sidelined and, over time, displaced.

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204 lovemarlu

I often ask people whether they'd rather wo rk for a company that is liked, or one that is loved. One hundred percent go for Love. W ith more of their time spent wo rking, people want that work to mean more to them. T hey are searching for identi ty and they are determ ined to make a contribution.

Great companies respond to this demand by articulating a higher purpose. T hey inspire their people with a call to action that builds identi ty, focuses on inclusiveness, excites pass ion, and challenges possibi lity. And, no doubt, a tock-solid founda­tion from which it is possible to make the world a better place.

Even the hard neural sciences are fi nding evidence through brain scans that cooperating and feeling that we are doing the right th ing can really make us foel great. In The New York Times, Natalie Angier summed up Dr. Gregory S. Berns' find ings:

"The small, brave act of cooperating with another

person, of choosing trust over cynicism, generosity over selfishness, makes the brain light up with quiet joy."

It seems we are wired to cooperate. And what greater project do we have to cooperate on th an making the world better for all of us?

Th is is the phi losophy I can see taking roOt at Toyota-a huge and successful company determ ined to make fundam ental change, and understanding that such change pivots on the commitment of Toyota people. Wo rking with passion and dedication, they are committed to a more prosperous society in this new century.

Pos itive steps toward a better future are being taken by busi­nesses everywhere. An example? Research and Development that was once corralled at corporate HQ is increas ingly being undertaken where it will be appli ed, where it can make a difference. But let's go further.

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I believe that international companies should aim 50 percent of their R&D budget at those 1.3 billion people who earn less than a dollar a day.

T his would be a fantas ti c objective fo r businesses with a real

co mmitment to inclusiveness.

Wi ll the shi ft towards business taking more respo nsibili ty fo r

the world 's wel l-being be easy? No. As with al l shi fts o f power,

there are tough issues to be assessed and resol ved. Professor Sandra Dawso n, Director of the Judge Institute of M anagement

at Cambridge University in E ngland , highlighted what lies beneath the su rface:

"There is a paradox in the sense that if you empower

or regenerate, or you enter into a partnership that

fundamentally affects the power balance, then it's like

a parent and a child . As a parent you enable an

independence, which means that a child won't

necessarily look at the world the way you do. So if

you want to get away from the colonial notion of

development, then that means you have to take really

high risks, because you are enabling things to happen

which may not then seem to be exactly what you would have wanted. In other words, you can't

empower and secure regenerative actions and at the same time exercise control."

What {he World Needs Now 205

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206 iOYEmar~,..

The desire to control is tough to relinquish, but that is what we mllst do if we want to start on the journey towards Lovemarks. And let's face it, once you are in sp ired by th e id ea of Lovemarks, it becomes impossible to settl e for anytbing less. Tracking Love returns a premium on every conceivab le level. As philosopher Daniel Dennett said: "The secret of happiness is to find so mething more important than you are, and then dedicate your life to it. "

Alan Webber, Founding Editor, Fast Company:

"One of the things we've always believed at Fast Compauy is that there is a higher road for business to

take. That when you combine the notion that work

is personal and that outcomes and performance matter,

and you hook those two values up to the same energy

source, then you actually get the best of all possible

worlds, Vou get a workforce and a team of people who

are totally committed to what they're doing, You get

better results in their performance and in their sense

of what's possible."

At Saatchi & Saatchi , we are determined to expand our sense of what is possible. We have already made our focus "to create and perpetuate Lovemarks through the power of our ideas. " We wi ll use our ideas to connect, transform, and em power the people in the 82 countries we operate in. We will demonstrate that to be sustainable in the new century, enterpri ses will need

to take on an emotional dimension. And we wil l grow stronger because we know that those who engage with more than th eir own profit margins wi ll gather momentum fast.

Those who limit their benchmarks to rational and financial outcomes will go nowhere slowly.

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We have fo und this to be true in the area of social commitmenr.

Over rhe years, Saarchi & Saarchi has raken on pro bono wo rk around the wo rld to hel p social causes. Our respo nse was emotional. C lients would bring us powerful stories of groups and orga nizatio ns pitched against the most unimagi nable social injusti ce. C hild abuse, road deaths, sex ually transmitted diseases, war, racism, drugs, to rture, lack of co ntracep tio n, ce nso rship , enviro nm ental damage, and many, many more. O ur respo nse was to create some of th e most co mpelling ideas in the wo rld.

----------- ;"

REII THIS YOU ...

Of SHIT.

PENIS WIllIOUT A roNOOM. '~lrlllllll, "m'l m·ml.

" \I~' .,. •....

Whar rhl' \X'orld Needs Now 207

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208 iovemarkn

.. , .....

Did this make us lose focus on profit ' No. Did it dilute our relationships with major clients' Quite the reverse. What it did do was to ttansform us into one of the world 's leading social co mmunicatio n companies . Do our people get a buzz from that and want to do more (0 set things right with the world? You bet they do.

The more power you give away, the more it comes back to you .

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But if business is to make the world a better place we also need ro step o lltside our own com fort zo ne, share resources, and take

a new perspecti ve.

It was this insight, championed by our Wo rldwide Creative D irecto r, Bob Isherwood, that inspired the Saatchi & Saatchi Innovation in Communication Awa rds. Literall y, a celebration

of wo rld-changing ideas.

We are an ideas co mpany, but we know th at ideas by them­selves change noth ing. It's when they go to wo rk a nd transform the way people live tha t they matte r. D r. Arno Penzias, fo rmer Vice President and C hief Scientist at Bell L1bo ratories and jo int win ner of the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics, li ves by this distinction.

" Invention is the product of a creative or curious mind. Innovation is something that changes the life of the customer. It changes the life of the customer in some way, or the world in which the customer experiences things. That's an innovation ."

T here is a paradox in all this, of course. O ften the simplest innovations have the po tential to change the wo rld most. This was certai nl y true of D avid Irvine- Halliday's inventio n, which won rhe Thi rd Saarchi & Saarchi Innovation in Communication Award in 2003.

Dave's idea was born du ring a trekking tr ip ill ro the mo untains

of Nepal. A photo ni cs engi neer from Ca lgary, Ca nada, Dave was struck by the fact that the villagers in this remote, rural land faced an overwhelming barrier to their health , well-being, and develop ment-darkn ess.

They had no access to electric light-a situation that confronts some 1.7 billion of the world's people .

What (he World Needs Now 209

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Bob Isherwood takes up the story: "Dave Irvine- Halliday's in vention was exactly the kind we had been hoping for when we created the Innovation in Communication Award. What we were after was the application of a simple, practical idea for the greater good . Dave's invention is certai nly a simple idea, bur rhe impli ca tions for humanity are immense.

" It is based on the amazing power of wh ite light emitting diodes. These tiny bulbs require very little energy but they light up a remark­able arca for their size. By clustering a group of these tiny light sources together, Dave took the technology into another realm. He produced a unit that could supply enough light for a child to read by. What a li fe­transforming idea.

"To me, ideas are the currency of the future. That is the essence of how businesses can make a difference. I agree with Arno Penzias:

"'Creative people let their minds wander, and they mix ideas freely. Innovation often comes from unexpected juxtapositions, from connecting subjects that aren't necessarily related. Another way to generate ideas is to treat a problem as though it were generic. If you're experiencing a particular problem, odds are that other people are experiencing it too. Generate a solution, and you may have an innovation. '

"Ideas peop le start their day, in the words of our technical consultant David Levy, 'looking

for trouble:

2 10 iovemarb.

"A nd there is a lot of trouble to find. L1rge numbers of the people of the world find them­selves hard-up against barriers that prevent them from doing simple things that most of the first world takes for granted. I'm thinking of basic ac ti vities like being able to read , getting quick, competent medical services,

or having access to electricity.

"Our idea' If the lives of millions were burdened by so much trouble, and at the

same time ideas people are out there looking for trouble, why nOt put the twO together? That's why we issued the challenge for people to put for­ward ideas that have the potential to change the way we communicare.

"We weren't thinking of anyone kind of communication. It could be anything- from between individuals to between nations and planets! It was, as we say in the ideas business. a very open brief.

"My friend and Innovation Award judge, Edward de Bono, sums it up bes t: ' It is better to have enough ideas for so me of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at aII... :

"The Innovation in Communication Award is

another step towards making the world a better place. It's an example of how curiosity, passion,

and concern for the well-being of our planet and its people can inspire miracles."

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A selection of standout entries from past Saatchi & Saatchi Innovation in Communication Awards

Kaspa-Dr. Leslie Kay, New Zealand (Winner, 1998) A sensory subst itute for the visually impai red. The helmet- like device uses sonar signals to help blind people "see with sound, "

Self·Adjustable Spectacles-Professor Joshua Silver, U.K. (Edward de Bono Medal , 1998) An inexpensive eyeglass-lens system destined for rhe developing world.

Ouicktionary-Wizcom Technologies Ltd. , Israel (Finalist, 1998) A handheld "pen" des igned [0 scan text and rra llsbre it simultaneously.

Univers Revolved-Ji Lee, U.S.A (Finalist, 1 998) A three-dimensional typeface that encourages people to read "in rhe round ."

Peratech-Peratech Company, U.K. (Winner, 2000) A revo lutionary class of clcc rrica lly cond uct ive composites (QT Cs) incorporated inw a texti le. The fa bric, w ith rhe unique abiliry (Q respond w human rOllch, has been rested by NASA fo r spacesuits, and has been used by Bunon in "inrelligenr" snowboarding jackets.

NeuroGraph- Dr. Richard Granger, U.S.A. (Finalist, 2003) Non~invasive aid for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases.

Mind Switch- Professor Ashley Craig, Australia (Finalist, 2003) A radical device (hat (Urns brai n waves into a phys ical extensio n of rhe body, allowing the disa bled (Q operate electronic equipmenr by remOle contro l.

Artificial Sight- Dr. William Dobelle, U.S.A. (Finalist, 2003) A pioneering rechnology using video project ion and skull implant's, w hi ch has resulred in people wh o have lost their sight be ing ab le ro "sec" af-rer yea rs of roral blindness.

The Kinkajou Projector-Design that Matters Team, MIT, U.S .A. (Finalist, 2003) A mobile library. class room projecror, and t e3cher~ training roo l in o ne-ro give remore communities unprecedenrcd access {Q educat ion.

Stand Up and Walk- Professor Pierre Rabischon9, France (Finalist, 2003) A system of b iomed ical implants that offers p3r3plegics the real possi bility of walk ing again.

More about th ese projects, and about the Award, at www.saatehi-saatchi .com/innovation

Judges

1998 Buzz Aldrin-Astron;ulI and moonwalkcr

L1uric Anderson-Artist and musician

James Burke-Scicncc writer

Edward de Ilono-Inventor ofbteral thinking

W illi am Gibson-Science fiction writer

Tibor Kalman- lnAuential designer

u cilian Murd ocll-News publisher

Ricllard Saul \Vurman-Inform:u ion :u chi,,'ci

2000 Paul Davies-Mathematical physicist and

philosop[wr

Edwan:1 (Ie Bono-Inventor of Lucral thinking

Brian Eno-Multimedia anis!

Kevin Kelly- Founding editor, \'(fired

Pattie Maes-Associate professor, M IT

Mt:dia 1. .. 1b

Kjell Nordslrom-C.o-amhor, FUliky RlfSiliffl

2003 Da\'id Byrne-Mllsici:1Il and ;lrtiSI

Edward de Bono-lnvc!I[or oflatloral thinking

Danny Hillis- Parallcl computing pium:er

Dr. Kenji Kitatan i-Vicc pre~idelll , Sony

Corporation

John Maeda-Artist and c),berguru

Dr. Story Musgra\'e-Astro~scicnt i M

Julie Taymor-Film and ,healer dirt'nor

What the World Needs Now 211

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212 iovemar~/:I

To set out to make the world a better place is inspirational.

No inspiration , no innovation. Inspiration is contagious. It is accessible to all. And, I believe, will accelerate us towards a better world.

Sandra Dawso n aga in:

"You can't do it all on inspiration, but without different ideas you can't be good at business. So I think inspiration is absolutely essential. The more diverse your experience, the more you allow yourself to think unusual things, the more different experiences you have, the more you question and the more you look at things from different angles. That's when the ideas begin to Rowand where inspiration can be very significant."

To set Ollt to make the world a better place is inspirarional.

That inspiration feeds back to create more great ideas and actio ns. This very powerfu l cycle wi ll not only benefit the people of the world, but everyone who parti cipates. Businesses, indi viduals, co mmunities, organi z.,,'uions.

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Index 7 UP 17 42 Below vodka 5 Ahsolut Vodka 180 A-Channel TV station 178 Alessi 100 All Blacks rugby team 51, 88, 93, 114 Amazon.com 38, 79 Amul dairy products 4 Angier, Natalie

quotation from 204 anti-globalization movement 35 Apple computers 79, 123, 141, 17.3, 179 Architectural Digest magazine 119 Ariel (Procter & Gamble) 16,79, 165 Aston Martin 140 Attention Economy 33-36,62 Audi 92,93 Australian cricket team 99 auto industry 123, 192-95 Aveda hair products 179

Band-Aid 26 Barbie 179 Basmati rice 148 BBC

in U.S.A. 180 Beatles 4,50 heauty industry 13, 14, 116, 186, 188

Kevin Roherts in 13, 14 Becker beer I 75 Beeby, Bob (PepsiCo International) 16 Berns, Dr. Gregory S.

findings of 204 beverage industry 16, 18, 27 Birkenstock shoes I 81 Bischmann, Joanne (Harley-Davidson) 28 Bloomingdale's department store 130 BMW motorcyles 180 The Body Shop 79, 95 Bond, James, movies 90 Brahma beer I I 7

Lovemark case study 189-92 brands 24

evolution of, from trademarks 30 limitations of 32-36, 66, 67

Branson, Richard 35, III Break chocolate bars 174 breakfast cereal industry 196-98 Breyers ice cream 183 Budweiser beer 130 Bundaberg Ginger Beer 183 Burberry pattern 112 business

role of, in the world 202

Campbell's soups 182 Camper shoes 90 Camry (Toyota) 136, 137, 177

216 QovEmarb

Le Caprice restaurant 140 car industry see auto industry Carrara marble 148 case studies in Lovemarks 186-200 Chanel No. ') 85 Cheerios (General Mills) 93

Lovemark case study 196-98 China

Lion Nathan operations in 18 Saatchi & Saatchi research team in 162-64 transformation of 24 understandi ng 162-64

CNN79 Coca-Cola

bottle shape as trademark 27 as Lovemark 78, 79, 130 New Coke 171, 172 Pepsi, battle with 16, 17,31

color 114, 115 Pan tone color range 115

commitment, as element of Intimacy 138-41

Commitment-red Marketing 138 Concorde 18.3 consumers

emotion, key role of for consumers 42 Inspirational Consumers 168, 170-86 listening to, importance of 3, 75, 81, 156, 166-68, 195, 200 Lovemarks, consumer "ownership" of 3, 74, 78 loyalty, consumer 138 Loyalty Beyond Reason 66, 78, 81, 139-41 product development, involving consumers in 166, 167, 195

Cooper, Peter (QualiQuant International) Lovemarks, research into 160, 161 quotations from 157, 167

Coppertone 182 cosmetics industry see beauty industry CoverGirilipstick (Procter & Gamble) 79 Crayola 109 Crowe, Russell 8')

Dawson, Sandra (University of Cambridge)

quotations from 205, 212 de Bono, Edward

as judge of Innovation in Communication Awards 210, 211

Dean, Cecilia (Visionaire magazine) 86 quotation from 87

Decker, Charles and Winning with the P6-G 99 16

design, importance of 62, 64 Disney 79,91,149

Doc Martens 183 Dodge Viper 180 dreams, tapping into consumers' 93

eBay 79 edge, ideas from the 16, 17 Eisner, Michael (Disney) 55 Electrolux 157 emotion

in husiness and economics .38, 42, 72 consumers, making emotional connections with 105 music and 117 primary emotions 44 reason compared with 42 secondary emotions 45

empathy, as element of Intimacy 136-38 Enrico, Roger 1 6

and The Other Guy Blinked 172 Ermenegildo Zegna lin FSOMAR (World Association of Opinion and Marketing Research Professionals)

155,160 Est"e l.auder I 16

Fado music 5 Fast Company magazine 66-72 Fe Bayern Munich soccer team 99 I'edcral Express 130 Fitzpatrick, Scan (All Blacks captain) 51

quotation from 'i 1 Fnac stores 181 I'uji 146

Gan, Stephen (Visionaire magazine) 86 General Mills 9.0, 196-98; see also

Cheerios General Motors 192 Giants, New York 140 Gillette l'i Cilson, Clive (co-author Peflk PerjiJrmance) 93 Gladwell, Malcolm

quotations from l'i'i, 1 '56, ITl and The 7lpping Point l'i'i

Goddess, Nike 166 Coogle 2'i, 79, 137, 170, 182 Guinness beer 92

Hamill, Clare (Nike Coddess) Nike Coddess research 166 quotations frolll 142, 166

Harley-Davidson 2X, 78, 79, %, 140 Harvey Nichols department store J.)O

Havaianas 4 Head & Shoulders shampoo (Procter &

Gamble) 22, 12J Hello Kitty 97

Page 217: 3 Kevin Roberts Lovemarks

Hermes 140 Hofil1cyr, Jan (co-author Commitment-red Marketing) 138

IBM ThinkPad 7H trademark 27

icons and myths, importance of for Lovemarks 9(,

IKEA 178 iMac 123, 149 innovation ()4

Saatchi & Saatchi Innovation in Communication Awards 209-11

Inoue, MascIO (''''yota) quotations fi-om 118, 125, 165

inspiration 212, 213 Inspirational Players 12, 213 Internet

role of in research 167 Intimacy

Brahma heer campaign, as clement in 189 characteristic of Lovemarks 74-79, 128-44 Tide campaign, as clement in 198

iPod 78, 178 Irvine-Halliday, David 209, 210 Isherwood, Bob (Saatchi & Saatchi) 20, 209

on the Innovation in Communication Awards 210

Ishizaka, Yoshio (''''yota) quotation from 3

Islam, Yusuf see Stevens, Cat Italy

land of the emhrace 122 as Lovcmark 79

Jaguar cars 1.,0 Jcll-O 26 JetBlue Airways 170 Jordan, Michael 142, 166

kaizen (continuous improvement) 61 Kaliardos, James (Visionaire magazine) 86 Klein, Naomi 35 Kodak

marketing to teen Generation Y 150-52 Kuryatim, ",llIad 16 Kung I'u icc cream (Van den Bergh) 176

Lafley, A.G. (Procter & Camhle) Foreword by 9 quotation from 164

Landers, Scan (artist) quotation fi-om 100

LECO 79, U9 Lent, Eric (Kodak) l'iO-52 Letterman, David (the "Late Show") 177 Levi's 79 Levy, Maurice (Publicis Groupe)

quotations from 42, 43, 94 LeXlIS ('I('yota) 89

Lovemark case study 192-95 Lion Nathan

Kevin Roberts as Chief Operating Officer for 18

listening to consumers, importance of 3, 75,81,156,166-68,195-200

LOMO cameras 176 The Lord of the Rings film trilogy 85,93 Love

business, Love's importance for 56, 57 hUlnan emotion, most fundamental 45-47,52, 53

Love Bug computer virus 56 Love/Respect Axis 146-52, 160, 161 sport, Love's importance for 51, 99

Lovemarks case studies 1 86-200 characteristics of 60-63, 74-79 development of concept of 66-72 Inspirational Consumers and 170-S3 Intimacy, as characteristic of Lovemarks 74-79, 128-44 Love/Respect Axis 146-52, 160, 161 Mystery as characteristic of Lovemarks 74-79,82-102 research, Lovemarks approach to 154-68 research into 160-62 Saatchi & Saatchi's role in development of74 Sensuality, as characteristic of Lovemarks 74-79, 104-26 "Trustmarks" concept 68-70

Lucky Charms cereal 140

McDonald's 79, 129 McElroy, Neil

development of brand management 30 M&M's 98 M·A·C cosmetics 116 Mach 3 Turbo razors (Gillette) 15 Manchester United soccer team 79 Mandela, Nelson 79, 97 Maori people of New Zealand 88, 166 Mary Quant 12, 13 MGM lion 26 Microsoft 94, 141, 143 Middle East

Gillette in 15 Pepsi in 14,31 Procter & Gamhle in 157, 158, 165 Kevin Roberts in 15, 16, 31, 105, 157-59

Mikimoto pearls I 8 I mobile phones 137, 138 Monroe, Marilyn 85 moon project, Apollo 11 94 motorcycle industry 28 mUSK

emotion and 117 importance of for Lovemarks 124

Myers, Douglas (Lion Nathan) 18

Mystery Brahma beer campaign, as element in 189 characteristic of Lovemarks 74-79, 82-102

myths and icons, importance for Lovemarks 96

The New Yorker magazine 4 New Zealand

Kevin Roberts in 18, 19 Nike 79,96, 129, 166

Nike Goddess 166 Nintendo 79, 144 Nokia 79 Novak, Jill (Saatchi & Saatchi) 150-52

Olay skin-care products Lovemark case study 186-89

Old El Paso (General Mills) 174 Olympic Games 99 Original'](,mmy's Burger 181 The Other Guy Blinked 172 Owens Corning pink fiberglass 28

Padron Millennium cigars 140 Palm Pilot 178 Pampers (Procter & Gamble) 16, 79 Pan~one color range 1 15 passIOn

as element of Intimacy 142, 143 about your own product 75

past, acknowledging the 91 Pawle, John (QualiQuant International) 161 Peak Performance 93, 99 Pearce, Ron 1 6 Penzias, Dr. Arno

quotation from 209, 210 Pepper, John 16 Pepsi, 32, 159

Canada, in 16, 17 Coke, battle with 16, 17, 31 Middle East, in the 16, 31 Kevin Roberts and 16, 31

Peters, 10m 67 PlayStation (Sony) 148 Polti, Georges

study of storytelling 191 Postrel, Virginia 43 Pottasch, Alan 16 Pratt, Mike (co-author Peak Performance) 93 President Avenue Fruirworld 4 Prius (Toyota) 98, 118, 165 Procter & Gamble 15,30, 146, 157, 166; see also Lafley, A.G.; Olay skin-care

products; 'lIde research methods 165-67

Putumayo World Music 84, 85, 115

QualiQuant International 157, 160, 161, 167 quality control 62 Quant, Mary 12, 13, 116

217

Page 218: 3 Kevin Roberts Lovemarks

Red Bull 27, 85 Red Crescent 96 Red Cross 79, 96 reliability, importance for Lovemarks 62 REMO general store 178 Research 1 54-67

focus groups, limitations of 162, 167 Internet, role of 167 Love/Respect, correlation between 161 Lovemarks, research into 160, 161 QualiQuant International 157, 160, 161, 167 qualitative and quantitative, relationship between 161 Research & Development budgets 116, 205 research methods, limitations of 154-59 Saatchi & Saatchi, China research ream 162-64 Xploring 162-65

Respect as foundation for business 60-63 Love/Respect Axis 146-52 Olay Total Effects, in marketing 187

Rice, Butch (co-author Commitment-red Mtlrketing) 138

Roberts, Kevin China, in 18, 24 Gillette, as International New Products Manager for Middle East 15 Lion Nathan, as Chief Operating Officer for 18 Mary Quant, working for 13, 14 Middle East, in the 15,16,31 105, 157-59 New Zealand, in 18, 19 Petlk Perforrrltlnce, co-author of 93 Pepsi, in the Middle East 16 Pepsi Canada, as CEO of 16 Procter & Gamble, as Brand Manager f(Jt 15 Saatchi & Saatchi, as CEO Worldwide of20 "Trust in the Future" article 66-70, 72

Roddick, Anita (The Body Shop) 95 Rolcx Daytona 140 Rollerblades 26

Saatchi & Saatchi 20, 21, 40, 41 case studies on Lovemarks 186-200 China, research team in 162-64 F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, Brahma beer campaign 189-92 Head & Shoulders campaign 123 Innovation in Communication Award 209-11 pro bono work 207 Kevin Roberts, becoming CEO Worldwide 20, 21

Sanders, Tim (Yahoo!) quotation from 170

Schmitz, Herbert 16,32

secrets eliminating unnecessary secrets from your business 64

Seelert, Bob (Saatchi & Saatchi) 20 developing the Love/Respect Axis 146

Sensuality Brahma beer campaign, as element in 189 characteristic of Lovemarks 74-79, 106-26

service, importance of for Respect 62 Lexus, and 194

Seven Flags 149 sight

using visual style in marketing 113-15 Singapore Airlines 178 "single living," rising trend of 135 smell

Head & Shoulders campaign 120 use in marketing 118-21

Snaidero kitchen designers 182 Sony PlayStation 148 sound

use in marketing 117-18, 189 Starbucks 97, 120 Starck, Phillipe 100 Starlet (Toyota) 177 Statue of Liberty 179 Statue of the Virgin Mary, Harissa 5 Steinlager 128 Steinway pianos 18.3 Stengel, Jim (Procter & Gamble)

quotations from 78,79, 165 Stevens, Cat (Yusuf Islam) 40, 41

"Father and Son," Telecom NZ TV spot 40,41

Storper, Dan (Putumayo World Music) quotations from 84, 113

storytelling, importance of for business 75,88-90, 191

SUras dairy products 175 Swatch 79 Sydney Opera House 96

taste Apple, iMac campaign 123 use in marketing 122-23

Technics turntables 176, 180 Telecom New Zealand 40, 41

"Father and Son" TV spot 40, 41 telecommunications industry 40, 41 telemarketing 34 text-messaging 125 ThinkPad, IBM 149 Tide 16, 66, 79,104,165

Lovemark case study 198-200 Tiffany's 181 The Tipping Point 155 Tonga 182 Total Effects (Olay) 188 touch

use in marketing 124, 125

Xbox controller 125 Toyota 3, 79, 98, 118, 125, 136, 137, 146,

177,182 trademarks 25-29

brands, evolution into 30 generic nan1es, transformation into 26 historical development of 25

Trimble, Sam 119 Trung Nguyen cafes 5 trust

importance of in business 62, 66-69 "Trust in the ~uture" article, by Kevin Roberts 66-70, 72

T winings teas 179

United Airlines 149

value, consumer perception of 62 Olay Total Effects campaign 186

Van den Bergh ice cream 17') Vaseline 26 Vespa 79 Virgin 78

Atlantic 79, 149 music stores 111

Visiontlire magazine 86, 87 Vogue magazine 188

Walkman 26 Wal-Mart 62 Walton, Sam (Wal-Mart) 62 Webber, Alan (FriSt COrnptlflY magazine)

quotations from 67, 72, 120,206 "Trust in the Future" article, by Kevin Roberts 66-70, 72

Weymes, Ed (co-author I'mk I'erforrrltlnce) 93 Where the Wild Thing,- Are 179 Winfrey, Oprah 134 World Cup (Soccer) 192

Xbox (Microsoft) 12') Xploring, approach to research 162-6')

Yahoo! 137, 170 Yankees, New York 99 Yorkshire pudding 5

Zippo lighters 143

Page 219: 3 Kevin Roberts Lovemarks

Further Reading

Diane Ackerman, 1991, A Nfltllrtll History olthc Senses, New York: Vintage Books.

Diane Ackerman, 199'), A Ntltura! History olIoue, New York: Vintage Books.

John Armstrong, 2002, Conditions ojIolle: The Philosophy oflntimflcy, London: Penguin.

Donald Caine, 2000, Within Rl'IIson: Ntltionrziity find Humfln Behflvior, New York: Vintage Books.

Antonio R. Damasio, 1994, Desmrtes' Frror: Jimotion, Neflson, find the Humfln Brain, New York: Avon Books.

Antonio R. Damasio, 20U}, Looking/i" SpinoZi/: Joy, Sorrow, find the Feeling Bmin, Orlando: Harcourt, Inc.

Ciep Franzen and Margot Bouwman, 2001, Fhe Mental World of Brand;; Mind, Memory find Brrmd Success, Oxf<lrdshire: World Advertising Research Center.

Malcolm Gladwell, 2000, Fhe lippillg Point: HOII' Little Things Cim Mflke fI Big Diffirence, New York: l.ittle, Brown and Company.

Thomas Hine, 2002, I Wtmt Fhru': How Wi, All Became Shoppers, New York: HarperCollins.

Lynn Jamieson, 1998, Intimflcy: PersorMI Ne!rttion.;hips with Modern Societies, Oxford: Polity Press.

Regis McKenna, 2002, lot,zi Access: Giuing Customers What They W0nt in an Anytime, Anywhere WtJrld, Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Margaret Mark and Carol S. Pearson, 2001, The Hero and the Out/awe Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes, New York: McGraw-HilI.

Geoff Mulgan, 1998, Connexity: How to Live in fI Connected World, Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

David G. Myers, 2002, Intuition: Its Powers find Perils, New Haven: Yale University Press.

Hamish Pringle and Marjorie Thompson, 1999, Brflnd Spirit: How Cfluse Related Marketing Builds Brands, Sydney: John Wiley & Sons.

Robert D. Putnam, 2000, Bow!ing Alone: The Collapse and Revivfll of Americfln Community, New York: Simon & Schuster.

Annette Simmons, 20U 1, The Story Fflctor: Inspirfltion, Influence, and Persuasion Through the Art of Storytelling, Boston: Perseus Publishing.

Gerald Zaltman, 2003, How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market, Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing.

Theodore Zeldin, 1998, An Intimate History of Humanity, New York: Vintage Books.

Shoshana Zuboff and James Maxmin, 2002, The Support Economy: Why Corporations Are Failing Individufl/s and the Next Episode ofCflpitalism, New York: Viking.

and www.lovemarks.com

219

Page 220: 3 Kevin Roberts Lovemarks

Credits

Page 13: Photograph © 1966 David Bailey Page 40: Lyrics from Cat Stevens' song "Father and Son" are reproduced after consultation with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Page 65: Photograph © 1994 Bill Lishman. Bill Lishman is associated with Operation Migration. Page 92: The GUINNESS word and HARP device are trademarks of Guinness & Co. Page 96: NIKE and the Swoosh Design Logo are trademarks ofNike, Inc. and its affiliates. Page 97: Hello Kitty is a registered trademark of Sanrio Co, Ltd, Tokyo, Japan. Page 98: M&M's is a trademark of Mars Incorporated and its affiliates. Page 103: This image is an artwork by Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Valley Curtain, Rifle, Colorado, 1970-72. Copyright Christo 1972. Photograph by Wolfgang Volz. The cables in this work span 1,368 feet (417 meters), varying from 365 feet (Ill meters) on the sides to 182 feet (55.5 meters) in the center. The artists do not accept sponsorship and pay all expenses of their large-scale, temporary works of art themselves. For more information, visit www.christojeanneclaude.net Page 116: Photograph of Rowena Roberts by Duncan Cole Page 137: Photograph by Kevin Necessary Page 163: Photographs by Chien Chung, a young photojournalist, working with Sandy Thompson of Saatchi & Saatchi Hong Kong. Look out for Sandy's awesome book One in a Billion, to be published soon after Lovemarks goes to press. Page 187: Photograph by Sarah Maingot Page 196-97: CHEERIOS is a registered trademark of General Mills, used with permission. The Cheerios box and still image from the "Football" Cheerios TV spor are reprinted with the permission of General Mills.

Pages 4,5,17,19,23,33,34,37,42,56,73,81,94,95,108, III, 127, 128, 130, 131, 135, 153, 154, 157, 158,160 (National Geographic Image Collection), 162, 166, 169, 173, 185,201, and 213 feature images supplied by Getty Images.

Pages 25, 26, 49, 91, 97, 99, 117, 141, and 145 feature images supplied by Corbis.

All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.

Any inadvertent omissions to these credits and acknowledgements can be rectified in future editions.

221

Page 221: 3 Kevin Roberts Lovemarks

Acknowledgements

This book draws together a range of contributors to inform and shape the evolving story of a future beyond brands.

In beginning to place acknowledgements, my first and biggest credit is to my family. We share a continuous journey from our home in New Zealand to various parts of the world, sustained by human Love. Thank you Ro, Nikki, Ben, Bex, and Dan.

The 7,000+ talented Saatchi & Saatchi people around the world are also family. They have worked together with me to bring Lovemarks to life, and I tell this story on behalf of, and for them.

Credit for the development of concepts for, and execution of, the book's design goes to Derek Lockwood, Saatchi & Saatchi's Worldwide Director of Design. Derek has offered his empathy and energy to give a visual pulse to every page.

Thanks to my friends at SVL in New Zealand, who have been with me every step of the way. Brian, Jane, Jim, Mary, Carla, Simone, Richard, and team .... Chapeau, chapeau!

The crew at powerHouse Books are entrepreneurial, passionate, and edgy. I've seen how they're a Lovemark to their audiences. And the coolest thing is that they're one block from my office. The pulling power of the local shines yet again.

For the insights given me by those I have spoken with about Lovemarks, and for the generous support I have received from the people I have met and continue to meet, I am grateful.

Many friends helped me during the journey. Inspired me. Opened me. Touched me. You know who you are. Thank you.

Kevin Roberts

Page 222: 3 Kevin Roberts Lovemarks

© 2004 Saa,chi & Saa,chi Foreword © 2004 A.G. L ... Aey, The Procter & G:Jll1blc C ompany

All fi ghts rese rved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner in any media, o r lransmincd by any means whatsoeve r, eleen an ic or mechanical (including phorocopy, film o r video record ing, Internet posting, or any other information sLOrage and rCHieval system) without the prior wrinen permiss ion of rhe publisher.

Published in the United Slales by powerHouse Books, a division of powerHouse Cultural Enrerr3 inmcIH, Inc. 68 Charlton Street, New York, NY 10014-460 I telephone 212 604 9074, fax 212 366 5247 e-mail : [email protected] website: w~vw. powerH ouseBooks .co ll1

First ed it io n, 2004

Library of C ongress Cata loging-i n- Publication Data:

Roberts, Kevin , 1949-Lovcmarks : the futurc bcyond brands / by Kevin Rob(;rts ; rorcword by

A.C. Lalley.-- 1st ed. p. CI11.

ISBN 1-57687-204- 1 (Hardcover) 1. Brand name produccs--Marketing. 2. Brand n:lIne

producrs-- Fo recasting.3 . Advenising-- Brand namc products. 4. Trademarks. I. Tille.

HD69.B7 R632004 658.8'27--dc22

Hardcover ISBN 1-57687-204- 1

An Di rccrion: Derek Lockwood

Cover Design: Hiroaki Ito Design Associates: Kiki Bauer, Jen Holley, Ho ll y Tica

2003024927

Scpar:Hions, priming, and binding by Amilcarc Pizzi, S. p.A. Milan

A completc cata log of powerHouse Books and I,imitcd Edirions is available upon reques t; please call , write, or find Mys tery, Sensuali ry, and Inrimacy o n ou r websire.

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