People, culture and psychology: The trifecta that drives brand growth

  • | Sunday | 17th September, 2017

But we truly believe that any roadmap for growth and improved marketing productivity requires a deep-rooted and keen understanding of the trifecta: people, culture and psychology. Chances are you've come across enough articles expounding on the topic of brand growth, stories that effusively document the meteoric rise of tech giants like Uber, Netflix and Airbnb, sharing editorial space with the cautionary tales of Kodak and Blockbuster. If consumers feel an emotional response to a brand, they will supplement this response with rational thought to justify their bias for a brand, or their purchase decision. Dove's life began in the 1950s and the brand has been on shelves for over five decades. Brands like Forest Essentials seek to reconcile these extremes and create bespoke products — like the 'Light Day Lotion Madurai Jasmine & Mogra SPF 25'.

Chances are you've come across enough articles expounding on the topic of brand growth, stories that effusively document the meteoric rise of tech giants like Uber, Netflix and Airbnb, sharing editorial space with the cautionary tales of Kodak and Blockbuster. It's not that these examples are not robust, or valid for our times. But the reason for the success of these brands is explained away by convenient business journalism buzzwords, rather than as a result of a headlong dive into people and culture. We believe that to understand brands and how they grow, we need a deep exploration into the cultural psyche of the consumer.Brands grow when categories adapt to cultural changes: As cultures evolve and morph, they give rise to a new and unique set of consumer needs. It's when brands anticipate and recognise people's needs within the context of cultural shifts that meaningful growth happens.After a couple of decades of consuming processed and packaged products, there has been a noticeable shift in the consumption patterns of India's middle-class. Growing lifestyle diseases and the controversies surrounding chemicals in packaged foods and beverages have precipitated the back-to-nature phenomenon. People are now adopting DIY products that require their involvement and input. There are several brands that have started servicing this cultural shift and seen massive success, Patanjali the most notable amongst them.Brand growth is impacted by generational cultural shifts: New generations of consumers create new cultures. When a new generation collides with the previous generation's values, lifestyle or behaviour, there's conflict. This forces a re-evaluation of needs, creating cultures that are still evolving and experimenting, and creating new brands with propositions that encourage consumer infidelity. Here's an example from the 'beauty' category. Mothers trust products that embody traditional and long-held beliefs about beauty. However, the professional millennial daughter seeks treatments that are scientifically validated, and solve her immediate problems. Brands like Forest Essentials seek to reconcile these extremes and create bespoke products — like the 'Light Day Lotion Madurai Jasmine & Mogra SPF 25'. Products like these combine beauty ingredients and wisdom from previous generations with scientific treatments to guard against modern concerns.Brand growth is affected by changes in consumer psychology: Brands need to be cognisant of major cultural shifts that have a strong effect on consumer psychology, and recognise these psychological changes as an opportunity to create new and more relevant sub-categories. The rise of veganism, which started in the last decade, was a tectonic shift in the cultural and political paradigm, and resulted in significant psychological changes in the consumer, such as an aversion to cosmetic products tested on animals. The Body Shop recognised this aversion and introduced a range of natural, environment-friendly cosmetics that women felt comfortable using on their skin. The brand leveraged a new political outlook to create a sub-category of cosmetic products and in doing so built a massive brand.To sustain growth, brands need to make counter arguments to the dominant cultural narrative: Even within the same generation, brands can start to fray at the edges and begin to seem old-school. An effective way to reinvigorate a brand is to centre it in the socio-cultural anxieties that reflect the zeitgeist — by taking a stand that is clearly a counter-argument and goes against the mainstream or dominant narrative. Unilever brand Dove is a case in point. Dove's life began in the 1950s and the brand has been on shelves for over five decades. But the tide turned for Dove in the early to mid-noughties when it launched the Real Beauty campaign. In a decade where glamour and airbrushing perpetuated an unnatural and unattainable idea of physical attractiveness, Dove's Real Beauty communication completely re-framed the conversation and allowed the brand to flourish.Brand growth happens when people respond on an emotional level to a functional 'solve': A brand needs to have strong and relevant functional benefits that evoke emotional responses in the consumer. If consumers feel an emotional response to a brand, they will supplement this response with rational thought to justify their bias for a brand, or their purchase decision. Sensodyne has done this perfectly with its campaign featuring dentistry experts. At first glance, the communication seems bland and unremarkable. However, teeth sensitivity is a particularly painful affliction for consumers, and this campaign assuaged the consumer's insecurity by using the reassurance of experts, thereby engendering an emotional response that led to purchase.This is by no means an exhaustive list, and there are a multitude of other factors that can drive brand growth. But we truly believe that any roadmap for growth and improved marketing productivity requires a deep-rooted and keen understanding of the trifecta: people, culture and psychology.(Bindu Sethi is Chief Strategy Officer and Nikhit Shetty is Account Planning Direct at J Walter Thompson , India)

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