The lecture notes for marketing training inform marketers: to trust that insight is the foundation of brand strategy. If you can have a good insight into target consumers, then you can build a strong brand. But what exactly constitutes this insight? How do you recognize it when you see it? People develop brand building based on some valuable creative ideas, but how do you identify these creative ideas?
Is this the creative idea?
When I read past cases about brand building, I am often surprised by how fitting the core insights of these strategies are. My first reaction is, is this the creative idea? Immediately following is curiosity, how did this team distill this idea from mountains of consumer survey data and decisively determine it as the basis of their brand strategy? Look at the examples below:
Did the MasterCard team really need numerous brand reviewers to conclude: "Purchasing goods can give you an experience of a different life, making you feel great."
The Dove team from Unilever, after conducting multiple patent studies, finally concluded: "Only 2% of women consider themselves beautiful, and only 5% consider themselves appealing."
These ideas are very insightful, providing a powerful foundation for each brand's development. But how do companies know this is the creative idea they're looking for?
Brands don't need self-announcements.
In the case of Dove, we have evidence suggesting that even the brand team wasn't entirely sure if revealing women's psychology in this way was appropriate. Initially, the marketing budget for this activity was relatively small because some critics questioned whether the activity would yield returns. The eventual success softened the landing and showed Unilever the potential value of this strategy. According to forecasts by the O&M PR company responsible for this activity, this PR campaign brought Unilever $21 million worth of free publicity. The People magazine used a picture of six women in underwear as its cover, and these women discussed their views on appearance on Oprah. Over the next three years, the brand generated $1.2 billion in revenue.
The MasterCard example is particularly enlightening; like Dove, the message being conveyed seems obvious but is easily overlooked. You could hear dissenting opinions in almost any meeting room, such as, "Can't other credit cards provide this good feeling too?" "Will this creative idea really encourage people to use their credit cards more often?" "Shouldn't we focus on more differentiated features, like security and convenience?"
However, with this clever insight, combined with a strong strategic connection point (MasterCard simplifies your life so you can focus on important things), this "priceless" campaign provided the company with a cross-cultural platform, resonating with consumers worldwide. This clever execution not only differentiated the brand but also strengthened the connection between the brand and consumers.
There’s another recent example from the financial sector: MassMutual launched a retirement planning service project. Market research conducted by Landor indicated: "In fact, most consumers are dissatisfied with 'scarcity strategies'; they simply don't trust these 'dreams'." This project was developed based on this research conclusion, targeting individual financial planners and brokers. It is widely believed that one should prepare some funds for the future, and MassMutual convinces people that dreams are not just dreams; they can help turn these dreams into reality.
Some thoughts on insight:
- Compared to products and services, the "insight" of products or services is more convincing to the target audience.
- Insight is more about winning category success, which leads to brand success, rather than the reverse thinking.
- Insight reveals the feelings people want to pursue, not necessarily what they currently think.
- Insight emphasizes long-term stability over novelty.
- Insight inspires new thoughts and ideas, creating something different from the past.