Yes they are popular brands, but they are so much more than that. According to Kevin Roberts (2006) from Saatchi & Saatchi, these brands are Lovemarks. He writes: “Businesses have always assumed that people see the brands the same way they do. This is why they can get it SO-O-O-O wrong. But some special brands don’t seem to make that mistake. They are so far out in front that they seem to have evolved into something else. They are what inspired Saatchi & Saatchi to develop Lovemarks as the future beyond brands.”
To test whether a brand belongs amongst the Lovemarks, the ‘Love/Respect Axis’ has been created. Products such as sand and iron, that are not desired by people are commodities and are low on love and respect.Products that are low on respect but high on love are ‘fads’, also known as ‘cool right now’, but can be replaced at any time. Roberts mentions Hula Hoops and ‘Survivor’ as fad examples.
When products have earned high respect but little emotion or love is involved, they are ranked as ‘brands’. Competition is tough.
Lovemarks, on the other hand, are high on respect and on love. This table demonstrates the difference between ordinary brands and Lovemarks.
“Lovemarks are not owned by the manufacturers, the producers, the businesses. They are owned by the people who love them.”
“Lovemarks are personal. And they can be anything – a person, a country, a car, an organization. Lovemarks are the charismatic brands that people love and fiercely protect. You know them instantly.”
On my personal Lovemark list you can find Louis Vuitton; the always fashionable and everlasting bag with its unmistakable monogram pattern; the Middle East with its mysterious but colourful culture; and my family (of course) for being the greatest support and source of inspiration.
On my personal Lovemark list you can find Louis Vuitton; the always fashionable and everlasting bag with its unmistakable monogram pattern; the Middle East with its mysterious but colourful culture; and my family (of course) for being the greatest support and source of inspiration.
Try making your own list of Lovemarks. They should match up to the following statements:
- Lovemarks connect companies, their people and their brands
- Lovemarks inspire. Loyalty beyond reason
- Lovemarks are owned by the people who love them
- Lovemarks inspire. Loyalty beyond reason
- Lovemarks are owned by the people who love them
The book is not only beautiful and fun to read/ scan/ flip through: the message Roberts conveys is very relevant to Imagineering. He says: “As the mass market geared up, businesses lost their way. They became detached from personal relationships,” meaning that businesses should practice customer intimacy at a far deeper level. This not only means that they get to know their customer better, but rather show a genuine interest in their desires, and then cater to those needs and wants.
“The deciding factor is about what the consumer needs in his or her life.”
Saatchi & Saatchi are a world renowned advertising agency, so one could argue that they are masters in selling products. They are. What makes them so good at it is their hunger for understanding the customer, or rather ‘guest’. Just like Imagineers, they value stories a tremendous deal, and the employees of Saatchi & Saatchi have become skilled listeners.
“Stories have a huge value in business because they look in the right direction. At people. You cannot tell a story without characters and emotion and sensory detail. Even the dumbest road-crossing-chicken jokes have it. And they capture us faster than the most elaborately produced annual report. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but terrific stories are right up there with them.”
Lovemarks is a valuable display of how a design approach can be optimalised for co-creation. Nothing Saatchi & Saatchi does is without the co-operation and consent of the customer and should bring mutual benefits. Their research goes further than questionnaires and even interviews. Saatchi & Saatchi employees are encouraged to go out and spend time or even live with the ‘customers’ to gain a deeper understanding and therefore build a more effective advertising campaign and eventually a Lovemark. This even goes beyond Imagineering research methods and resembles anthropological research.
“If you want to catch a fish, first learn to think like a fish.”
For everyone who enjoys looking at stunning graphics, likes diversity, and is looking for a great example of a truly customer oriented company, I would recommend Lovemarks in a heartbeat. The book can be read in one breath, but can also be left on the coffee table for the occasional impressive flip-through. The book is easy to read, but often requires you to flip the book 180 degrees, lift inserts or even play the CD-ROM that is included. Roberts even gives the reader advice on ‘things to do’ at the end of each chapter. Though mainly directed towards managers, the book is easily comprehendible, and captures the essence of Imagineering. Even though Lovemarks is hardly related to my thesis topic concerning Veteran care, it does show how even organisations as the Red Cross can obtain iconic status through the people that spread the word on the organisation’s good deeds. On the Lovemarks website: http://www.lovemarks.com/ you can find testimonials on the Red Cross by people from all over the world, alongside a list of all Lovemarks, video’s, links, communities to join and learn from, user polls and much more.
List of references: Roberts, K. 2006. Lovemarks. The Future Beyond Brands. Saatchi & Saatchi Designer Edition, Brooklyn, NY, Powerhouse Books
http://www.saatchikevin.com/Downloads/ book review Lovemarks in PDF
3 comments:
Lovemarks
With Imagineering you are always looking for new ways to communicate your message. When working at an application company you will meet plenty of people with totally different mindsets. For example when you are talking about your brand, some employees might think this is only true for the outside world. They do not recognize themselves in a brand yet.
So if you are trying to get a message across it is necessary to be able to do this in several ways. E.g. with some people you will manage to talk about it in an academic way, others need more familiar words to find out what you are trying to say.
Lovemarks does just that. It makes it possible to talk about Imagineering in a different way, involving the romance of love. This way I can imagine that it is possible to move new networks of people. But to make it a success I think it is needed to implicitly use the lovemarks theory in your dialogue. This means that you have to listen to your partner really well and indicate when they are talking about a traditional brand or a high involvement experience brand.
Using lovemarks like this can be very valuable, but I am still wondering in what way it represents service dominant logic. For example Apple is not recognizing the problems with their new Iphone at the moment. Is this truly a love story? Or is this old-fashioned goods-dominant logic? Anyway it is still seen as a lovemark even on the website itself… Just thinking, what is your opinion?
Rob
I very much enjoyed reading the book review of Jessica. I think this book reflects perfectly how brands work nowadays. They have fans that create the power of the brand instead of the brand creating the power. In my opinion most of the brands are lucky to be successful and its the people that create trends, and push brands foreward.
The build up of the review is clear and easy to read. Jessica uses the right words and creates a good outline to explain the book.
I agree with rob, and I am even questioning if you can actually define a lovemark. It is so personal and brands like apple might be just lucky! Maybe the word 'brands' are out of date. history also plays a large role in the lovemark world, especially in fashion. Tommy Hilfiger, is it a lovemark? for maybe people it is, and for many it isn't.
The combination of brands and complexity management might be an interesting one to discuss in the future. Because times changed and needs and belonging changed the role of brands also changed. Personal branding is popular and we are all doing it. This world of chaos is being held up in pieces with things such as brands... but they come and go within a week.
Interesting stuff to think about!
It is great to see that Imagineering withholds so many fields of creative thinking and it opens many views of brands, organizations and the world around us!
Good job Jessics!
I like the review.
I see a similarity between the love/respect axis in rational versus emotional involvement.
Respect equals rational loving; and
love equals emotional loving to me.
Further the quote “Lovemarks are not owned by the manufacturers, the producers, the businesses. They are owned by the people who love them.” is very true to what I think. Brands do not own their brand, but may facilitate the story people may tell about them. When people tell about a brand and express how they feel; only than a love mark can exist.
A lovemark to me a company who manages to connect with their customers on a rational as wel as an emotional level and makes it easy to talk about their experience with others.
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