The right brand experience is a competitive advantage for brands, says Jiří Jón.
The study entitled State of Brand Experience in the Czech Republic (refer to MAM 14/2022) by Ogilvy Consulting and GroupM showed that local companies should work on the set up of brand experience (BX). Jiří Jón, the head of Ogilvy Consulting and strategy in Ogilvy, describes the situation.
What is the attitude of Czech brands to brand experience?
It is addressed more by small brands as it is easier for them - they are not burdened with processes and the size of their business, and they establish relationships with customers more easily. Bigger companies also start to consider BX. Some of them started several years ago, such as Air Bank, which has set it up right from the beginning. It has a clearly defined brand, which is reflected in various individual aspects ranging from offering to branches. On the other hand, some firms perceive brand experience as short-term activations or events. But what we have in mind is a comprehensive view of the user path and how the brand definition translates into it.
What did you find interesting about the results of the study?
Among other aspects, how positively people perceive various instruments, for example in connection with financial literacy. Educational videos are one thing that the brands use to simply “check off” that they are addressing the issue and they do nothing beyond. Another thing are useful tools the use of which really helps people to improve financial literacy. This does not relate just to finance, a similar principle works everywhere.
“Checking off” is quite common, isn’t it?
Sure, and that is the problem. The so called benefits attributable to various categories are checked off - you expect a free account from your bank, fast page loading from an e-shop and goods in stock delivered within two days. These are usual things and no brand will stand out by providing them. Conversely, the standard experience can be improved by adding something unique to the brand. BX is a competitive advantage and if you are selling a commodity such as energy, BX is a powerful weapon along with the price. For example, energy providers abroad use an application to establish a relationship with customers for whom electricity is not interesting, who just want to save money. They have an avatar in their application who is growing and living according to their electricity savings. People enjoy it, it is a motivation for sustainability and it supports brand relation.
Why were people in their twenties surprised the most by positive experience?
We only have hypothesis for that. They are not so worn out by life, they are more enthusiastic and sensitive to details and marketing in general. Another reason may be the fact that a number of companies target their communication at them although they represent one of the smallest age groups in population. A huge space is open to brands to pay attention to other age categories. For example, with a bank we were discussing sending e-mails and letters written in a larger font so that they are easier to read for older people. It is a detail that can improve brand perception compared to competition.
Have you noticed any widespread mistakes in the study that should be avoided?
The most frequent problem is when a brand is “floating in the sea of mediocrity”. The brand is the same as any other in its category, it does not use the entire marketing arsenal, thus failing to benefit from the brand power in full. Empty promises are also wrong - e.g. if you are a supermarket and your brand proposition includes fresh food but people can find mouldy vegetables on the shelves. Or if you are saying that your customer is your priority but social media are full of complaints. It is also a huge mistake when brands only compare themselves to competitors in their category because from a customer’s point of view, experience is transferable across categories. For example, people will compare their positive experience of how efficient booking an appointment for a vaccination at O2 Universum was with the slow processing of a request at a bank branch, post office or at the doctor’s.
Who is the trend setter in brand experience?
Predominantly start-ups and small enterprises that start from their brand position. Good examples are fintechs such as Revolut. They are good at developing the experience both online and offline. It is also the domain of small businesses having a small management group (or a sole owner) and a clear vision. Brand experience is more difficult to quantify and it includes a comprehensive view and a set of activities. For this reason, large companies with a strict financial department tend to be more sceptical about it.
Do the Czech and foreign approaches to BX differ?
We tend to address customer experience more in the Czech Republic. We are a pragmatic nation and we want everything to work well and for a good price. But when customer experience works well for all brands, there will be time to consider what other ways to use to stand out. We are approaching this point, now is a good time to think about brand experience. Foreign companies are more advanced in terms of BX. But we will be catching up with them soon and our study may serve as an inspiration on how to do it. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, we can take inspiration from practical examples from abroad. In the Czech Republic we can also see the first BX activities bearing fruit. Just look at last year’s Effie where the “Bouquet - Wine Subscription” BX project won gold in the small budget category. I hope that there will be more projects like this.
Source: mam.cz
