7. December 2009
A new year is nearly at hand and a indeed a new decade. There's endless chatter in the industry about the changing marketing landscape. The hyperbole aside, it's clear to just about all now that brands have to behave differently than the once did if they are to thrive.
With that in mind we have developed a framework for understanding how brands should behave in this brave new world. We describe this framework as brand TARIF
T: Truthful It's easy to find out if a brand is buying milk from Grace Mugabe or freezing its fresh chicken in Sau Paulo and shipping it by air to Buckinghamshire. We expect to be told the truth. Better to tell uncomfortable truths and have a debate about them than try to sheild us from the facts - it just won't work and then we feel we've been duped. Be honest.
A: Attentive Our parents don't like to worry the Dr with their coughs and colds and expect they're in the wrong when the bank says they've missed a card payment. But more and more we're aware of our rights and that companies are not infallible and we expect the brands we deal with to treat us like we're important to them - or at least like we count. There are lots of channels now by which we can speak to brands - no longer do we rely upon the Contact Us in the website footer or the call centre. Facebook groups and pages, Twitter, blogs and forums. We're talking - brands had better listen.
R: Responsive And we expect what we say to be taken seriously and for brands to respond to it. Simple as that.
I: Interesting Not that it's all customer service and involvement. Rather like a romance, we still want brands to be interesting, to entertain us, to help us edit our choices and to woo us.
F: Forthcoming And we don't want to do all the work. We want brands to tell us what they're up to, include us in their plans and to occassionally suprise and delight us with news and innovation - perhaps letting us dedicated brand fans in on the secret a little early.
So there it is. Our brand TARIF. More on this and measuring success in the new year. There'll be lots of debate and plenty of ways for you to join in with it. So watch this space.
Photo courtesy of
The Boy With The Thorn In His Side