By Barbara Bacci Mirque
Procter & Gamble and Millward Brown mesmerized Monday’s ANA Advertising Financial Management Conference crowd by talking about the world’s leading brands, how they follow the money and what we can learn about them. The top 25 brands added $400 billion in shareholder value in the period examined. When studied in more depth, these brands – which included Blackberry, Toyota, Apple, Google, Pampers, Method, eBay, HP, Samsung, Zara, Esprit, Red Bull, Freshness Burger and four brands from the LVMH group – had some remarkable similarities. They share a common set of brand principles, not the least of which is they are built on human ideals, not product ideals. It is not about what people buy but why they buy. These brands tend to serve a bigger purpose and tap into universal human values. They believe a brand is about owning a share of culture, not share of market. And not coincidentally, the latter tends to happen when the former is invoked. For example, the Pampers brand turned around when they went from being about the driest diaper to happy, healthy babies. The second principle is they stick with the fundamentals such as heritage and design– the best brands respect and have one foot in the past and one in the future. Design is part of the brand, used strategically and plays a lead role. For example, Samsung has won 28 international design awards and Apple 22. A third principle is they demonstrate brand leadership - the Brand DNA guides everything that they do from recruiting and training to advertising. They are thought leaders who are first to market with break through ideas. They know the product attributes that matter to the user and those that do not. They organize around the brand and empower creative minded business leaders. They are guardians of the brand and always worried about the brand. The entire organization is united around the delivery of the brand vision – from suppliers to employees. The last common principle is engagement: the best brand builders don’t tell consumers why to buy the product, rather they invite them in and they co-create. Red Bull is famous for this. They balance price and value while creating exciting encounters for consumers.
The proof that this works is in the financials – these brands have all made more money than other brands and have grown more financial value for their shareholders. Procter & Gamble shared this research as their hope is that other brands will engage in more research and that learning will also be shared at future ANA conferences. Contact the ANA if this sounds appealing to you. ANA members can read more about the study in the ANA members only Marketing Insights Center.
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