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In a manner of pure common sense, companies are supposed to own the properties associated with their brands, and manage them on an ongoing basis. Of course, in reality the situation is entirely different.
In a manner of pure common sense, companies are supposed to own the properties associated with their brands, and manage them on an ongoing basis. Of course, in reality the situation is entirely different.
An example of this is the current Nestle - Facebook case.
Consumers make frequent use of brand assets, they may like or dislike, as part of their own communication needs. Social networks, for example, but not limited to, allow us to share information (such as brands logos, images of packaging, print advertising, commercials, etc.), and conduct an entire discussion on brands while utilizing these assets. This discussion, brand owners can not manage, at best they may participate in. In the reality of rich-media, companies have little control over the branding process, and it is getting harder to manage by the day.
The notion that companies do not own brands is not new. For over twenty years branding experts claim, that a brand is owned by it consumers. In short, companies do not own brands, they hold branding initiatives.
So firms are investing significant resources in marketing, advertising, branding efforts, and ultimately this energy fades and brand assets are controlled by consumers. So what do we do now? I will relate to one specific example, from which we may define at least one thumb-rule.
When searching for the keywords 'Osem logo', in Hebrew, Google's organic search results present a link to my studio's web-site substantially prior to that of Osem's web-site. Osem is one of Israel's big-three food companies - a local Nestle and it's local business affiliate. The same thing happens in image search. (As of publishing this post, 27 April 2010)
Being a company of that size of business, and a leading marketer, should Osem act to change this situation? Does it have to be the leader in search engine results, regarding the keywords relating to its brand? Should it act to change current reality?
My opinion is this:
If your business is on the Internet, you must lead search engine results related to your brands. Meaning, Nestle - No, eBay - Yes.
In other words, if you are into online sales, and your income is Internet generated, then take the lead on Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Can you succeed? Well, you can try, but I am not sure it will happen.
Dan
