10 Brand Trends for 2010

Provided by Rob Weisbord, Regonal Group Manager and Director Digital Interactive, Sinclair Broadcast Group and John Kelly of Ballistix. 11-18-2009

Though US economists are predicting an uptick in consumer spending next year, the post-recession landscape will present brand marketers with new challenges, new engagement realities and new rules, and will increase pressure to prove how and why branded products deliver value, according to a leading brand researcher. Based on their studies of consumer values, needs and expectations for the next 12-18 months, here are 10 brand trends you may experience in the new year:
Value is the new black: Consumer spending, even "on-sale" items, will continue to be replaced by a reason-to-buy at all. This may spell trouble for brands with no authentic meaning, whether high-end or low.
Brands are increasingly a surrogate for value: What makes goods and services valuable will increasingly be what’s wrapped up in the brand and what it stands for.
Brand differentiation is brand value: The unique meaning of a brand will increase in importance as generic features continue to propagate in the brand landscape. Awareness as a meaningful market force has long been obsolete, and differentiation will be critical for sales and profitability.
“Because I said so” is over: Brand values can be established as a brand identity, but believably must exist in the mind of the consumer. A brand can’t just say it stands for something and make it so. The consumer will decide, making it more important than ever for a brand to have measures of authenticity that will aid in brand differentiation and consumer engagement.
Consumer expectations are growing: Brands are barely keeping up with consumer expectations now. Every day consumers adopt and devour the latest technologies and innovations, and hunger for more. Smarter marketers will identify and capitalize on unmet expectations. Those brands that understand where the strongest expectations exist will be the brands that survive and prosper.
Old tricks don’t - and won’t - work anymore: Consumers are onto brands trying to play their emotions for profit. In the wake of the financial debacle of this past year, people are more aware then ever of the hollowness of bank ads that claim “we’re all in this together” when those same banks have rescinded their credit and turned their retirement plan into case studies. The same is true for insincere celebrity pairings - such as Seinfeld & Microsoft or Tiger Woods & Buick. Celebrity values and brand values instead need to be in concert.
Consumers won’t need to know a brand to love it: As the buying space becomes even more online-driven and international (and uncontrolled by brands and corporations), front-end awareness will become less important. A brand with the right street credibility can go viral in days, with awareness following - not leading - the conversation.
It’s not just buzz: Conversation and community is increasingly important, and if consumers trust the community, they will extend trust to the brand. This means not just word of mouth, but the right word of mouth within the community. This has significant implications for the future of customer service.
Consumers talk with each other before talking with brands: Social networking and exchange of information outside of the brand space will increase. This - at least in theory - will mean more opportunities for brands to get involved in these spaces and meet customers where they are.
Engagement is not a fad; it’s the way today’s consumers do business: Marketers will come to accept that there are four engagement methods: The platform (TV; online), the context (program; webpage), the message (ad or communication), and the experience (store/event). At the same time, they also will realize that brand engagement will become impossible using out-dated attitudinal models.
Accommodating all of these trends will require some companies to undergo significant paradigm shifts, which will likely be painful but necessary. Either way, change in the brand marketing space will be inevitable.