The End of Faceless Brands?

The fastest growing segment of today’s generation is ecstatic over technology and they rely on it to perform their everyday routine, even to upgrade their work and elevate their status for themselves. They are armed with BlackBerrys, cellphones, laptops, notebook and other high-tech gadgets. They are plugged-in 24 hours a day, 7 times a week. They prefer to communicate through e-mail, express themselves through blogging, Facebook, Twitter and text messaging rather than face-to-face contact. They would even prefer webinars and online technology against traditional lecture-based presentations. They are into constant communication, exchange ideas and share experiences.

Social and viral marketing is increasingly effective towards consumer’s needs and wants. Consumers are now demanding for fast and effective ways on how to fulfill their desires, rummage and immediate concerns. Therefore, nowadays you see a lot of brands and products popping out of these social networking sites. There are links to everything that the consumer may think of possible. Products and brands have their advertisement posted over the internet and search engines. Everything is fast-paced and within the reach of the consumers.

Brands can’t afford to be faceless. Consumers need a real person they can relate to. They need a brand that can cope up to their expectations. Someone or something that can possibly enter their personal space like ads they see on their Facebook or Twitter account. They prefer fast interactive phase of communication in fulfilling their wants and needs. Gone are the days that consumers will just buy the idea of having a good figure, a form or a celebrity endorser to make them believe in the product. Consumers now are intelligent enough to know which the real thing is and which is not. For me, a face that the consumers are into right now is the brand equity and the brand promise that is fulfilled and experienced by the consumers themselves. And these experiences are the viral marketing that the consumers are contagiously spreading, good and bad.

No matter how effective the advertising is executed, it is actually the “moments of truth” that will determine the value of the brand. The experience on each “touchpoint” will verify effectively the marketer’s campaign or the success of the integrated marketing communications. For example, no matter how great the advertising campaign of SM Malls are, if at the actual mall you will find security guards that are impolite or cashiers that are slow and do not have a pleasing personality or even if you have trouble parking your car, then all the good ad campaign is over. What’s left is a bad experience for the consumer. A bad reputation for the brand, a bad face that the consumers remember.

Marketing is about fulfilling the needs and wants of the consumers. The face that a consumer wants is something that will fulfill the brand promise. The face of a good brand equity. Advertising is the most effective tool to connect with your segment, your target and the position you may want to instill in the consumer’s mind, but it is the moment of truth on the very first touchpoint’s experience that will determine a brand.