(Retail) branding in an interactive world Flashcards
- According to Moreau (2020), the specific way an item is packaged and unpacked by the consumer can have substantial effects on their current consumption experience and future purchase experiences. Consequently, how can investments in “doorstep branding” be effective? Explain.
The doorstep branding strategy has to do with the fact that organizations want the consumer experience to start as soon as the package is delivered to their door. It is the first possibility of how brands could enhance the interaction between themselves and their consumers.
Enterprises can anticipate this fact and make investments to improve their packaging and win over their customers. It is proven that the first physical impression of an online purchase is crucial for the buyer, whether to keep or return the product. Creativity is a must, and the packaging’s design must be in line with the brand’s image, its ethical values and principles.
For example: If a brand only encompasses ecological elements in their products and their brand image is based upon ecologic values, they also need to translate this ecological part in their packaging.
Investing in attractive, (personal) and ecological packaging can prove to be rewarding as it shapes the consumers’ feelings about the product even before they use it.
If a package has a nice design and aesthetic, and it meets expectations; customers (and even influencers) can express their contentment by creating ‘unboxing videos.’ These could then be viewed by potential buyers in the decision-making phase, within the customer journey.
So it is crucial for brands to invest in nice packaging.
- In recent years, the way brand value is created and managed has shifted from single to shared ownership. In this new context, and according to Swaminathan et al. (2020), a) what are the roles and functions of brands? b) how is the brand value (co)created? c) how should brands be managed?
Due to hyperconnectivity, we see that the traditional roles and functions of brands are changing more and more. The first role that a brand adopts because of hyperconnectivity is the role of a weak quality signal. In the past there was evidence of information asymmetry between buyer and seller, and brands had to act as a quality signal. From a hyperconnected economy, consumers can get information themselves much more easily making the information asymmetry decrease as well. The second role is that of “mental cues in an information-rich environment”. The way in which brand information is processed by the consumer has to do with his/her motivation, ability, and opportunity to process information. However, brands can act as cues that access knowledge kept in consumers’ memories. The third function that a brand takes up in a hyperconnected environment is a brand as an instrument of identity expression. This identity vision of brands is based on the idea that brands become infused with associations through their use. A consequence of hyperconnectivity gives consumers the possibility to adopt multiple personae on their devices and change their identities frequently. Because they spend so much time online, their real and virtual identities can become entangled and can lead to identity conflicts. From this conflict it is therefore very important that brands are used as an instrument of identity expression in order to prevent this. The fourth role is emerging due to the fact that brands are increasingly expanding their social role through becoming activist tools aligned with various social and political issues. As a result, they are taking up their fourth role as containers of socially constructed meaning. The fifth role relates to the fact that, due to a hyperconnected environment, brands are increasingly embedded in complex networks consisting of users, partners, co-creators, and co-owners. Brands do have the ability to extract value from their position in the network from the network effect that emerges. From their position in this network they can also simplify users’ navigation thus contributing to seamless user experiences on online platforms. The fifth role therefore concerns brands as architects of value in networks. The sixth role brands take on is the role of catalysts or communities. Hyperconnectivity has made it easier for individuals to establish and join brand communities. From previous research conducted behind brand communities and how they pass on values to their members, it can be stated that in this context, brands serve as catalysts of social interaction and community through shared consciousness and brand use, loyalty, and engagement among community members. The second to last role brands play in a hyperconnected environment is that of arbitrators or controversy. The first role mentioned, the one of a brand as signals or nodes in memory, has led to brands being constructed as symbols. When brands are able to serve as symbols, this seventh role emerges within identity and sociopolitical spheres. In contrast to the past, brands nowadays adopt controversial stances on key topics such as feminism and racial issues. In doing so, they will appeal to consumers at the epicenter of the cultural controversy. The eighth and final role is the one of a brand as steward of data privacy. On the one hand, Hyperconnectivity has made the boundaries of brands increasingly blurred. On the other hand, it has allowed brands to have much more access to their consumers’ data. Of course, there are a number of challenges here, given that there is more and more doubt about the confidentiality and security of their data. That’s why it’s very important for brands to protect their consumers’ data and ensure the privacy of their clients.
The transition towards a Hyperconnected world has led to some business changing consequences. One of these consequences implies a shift from single to shared ownership regarding brand value creation and management. Brand messages are no longer only being shaped by the brand owners, but consumers and other stakeholders are also taking part in the shaping of brand messages. Therefore, we will speak of value co-creation instead of value creation. Co-creation of brand messaging can be a risk because of lack of control, but it is also one of the most influential concepts in contemporary marketing. In other words, there is a need for co-creation. It is crucial to give notice to how the customer can contribute to this co-creation and brand value creation through customer experience. In this manner value is both defined and created by the consumer. Next to this it is prominent that co-creation between consumer and brands, offers additional values for both the stakeholders in the organization and the consumer. Furthermore consumers are no longer passive recipients of brand‐related cues and much more in touch with each other through social platforms, which also influences the consumer’s perception of a product or service. This ‘social media influence’ can be divided into 3 processes: compliance, identification and internalization. Compliance means that the customer voluntarily experiences social influence in order to be accepted by the group. Identification means that the individual takes over the group view and hopes to benefit from the relationship he or she builds with this group. In the process of internalization, the individual takes on a new behavior which is close to that of the group. Recent research conducted on co-creation has indeed found that consumers play an important role in forming co-creation values and therefore have high control over a brand. As a brand that is using dynamic platforms, it is very important to focus on social capital. This concept mainly focuses on shared norms, values, trust, cooperation and reciprocity, which support the social groups at stake. This in turn will ensure that social media equity will be created with the customers when these connections are made between retailers’ brands and their customers.
Brands need to be managed as a part of an ecosystem in which organizations need to connect with other companies to build a sustainable relationship with them. In this marketing ecosystem all the data, produced by outsiders, a company has to deal with, is seen as an asset and an opportunity to learn about the company and the customers more deeply. In addition, the ecosystem could also deliver the opportunity to strengthen the interaction with the organization’s customer base. Also, platforms like social media can be exploited to improve brand-equity and improve the community feel of a brand.
