THE BRAND AS THE BOTTOM-LINE

THE BRAND AS THE BOTTOM-LINE.
The practice of marketing, as we know it has over time come to be inundated with a thousand and one definitions of strategy. However, put in basic terms, a strategy is the means through which one plans to achieve set objectives. It then follows that within a competitive marketspace, the marketer’s ultimate goal will be to earn the preference of the consumer above competition.
Now, the poser is raised at this juncture; how is this preference achievable? It has become established that differentiation is the key in this regard; either by introducing added-value offerings or benefits that competition is failing to offer, on the one hand, or by delivering utility to your consumers in a remarkably dissimilar manner, thereby giving the consumer practical reasons to not only want your offering more, but desire your offering and nothing else!
Dan Herman describes three (3) orientations of differentiation, but only one is touted as holding the key to a long-lasting and competitive advantage that has tremendous potential to be mined and exploited towards lasting consumer preference, and this is described as STRATEGIC differentiation. The other types are circumstantial differentiation, where such factors as a historical monopoly or what is known as “First-mover” advantage play pivotal roles. Differentiation could also be Transient, in which case products and services compete using promotional activity – price reductions, sales, Buy X get Y free, et al.
This is where the concept of Branding comes to bear on marketing strategy. It is imperative to note however that this subject of branding has come to represent one of the most misconstrued concepts in marketing in recent time.
A Brand is an encapsulation of the consumers’ anticipation for a unique and defined experience, or for a certain unique benefit derivable solely through consuming or owning a specific product/service. Now, this consumer anticipation is constantly evoked by the marketer’s careful and consistent execution of a well thought-out business model that delivers this benefit to his consumer in a novel way – This in itself is what qualifies to be termed the BRAND STRATEGY.
Now why did I choose to recap this brand ‘epistle’? The question of who owns the brand has raged on as an age-long subject of debate which has appeared particularly endemic to the peculiar marketing landscape in which we find ourselves as far as the Nigerian market is concerned. As a matter of fact, not a few Client-Agency relationships are unfortunately marred by the monsters of subservience, on one hand and/or mutual suspicion, among a host of other deplorable factors.
However, the truth is that truly great brands are owned by the consumer, as such our dear clients (the so-called brand owners) as well as our creative agencies (so-called brand strategists) are, in a real sense custodians, to whom guardianship of the brand is entrusted! Unfortunately, one school of thought opines that ‘he who pays the piper must, as a given, dictate the tune’. Another school of thought postulates that Agency should be given the ultimate license from both creative and strategic viewpoints to chart the brand’s course, given that Pray!a patient does not dictate to his physician on any account…. Well, different strokes for different folks, you may say!
These factors probably account for why, for instance taking a cursory glance through any of the major dailies at any given time, one is assailed by a barrage of generic communication material promoting homogenous product/service offerings, without any meaningful hint of differentiation. I reckon that one reason for this is that more often than not,in our contemporary marketing landscape, the approach to communication is more reactive than proactive, as players in most sectors resort to breaking campaigns in reaction to competition’s ‘onslaught’ rather than based on incisive market and consumer research through which market gaps can be identified and plugged appropriately.
It can also be argued, with considerable measure of merit, that for obvious reasons, the key decision makers in terms of campaign look, feel and orientation at the client end up, in many cases, being senior operating personnel/business owners who are not core marketing professionals in the real sense.
However, I strongly believe, and with good reason too, that today’s brand marketing solutions must emanate from a collective process of teamwork and synergy, internally within the agency of course, but particularly through the combination of skill, expertise and germane insights available at the disposal of our clients. I propose mutual problem/gap identification, and collective strategic input towards meaningful mitigation of these brand challenges.
The Agency can not expect to be a sole repository of strategic or creative input by any standards whatsoever. Whoever says the winning idea can not emanate from professionals on the client side? Unfortunately however, not a few practitioners on that side believe their call stops at sending out agency briefs and as such, it is the responsibility of the agencies/consultants, as the case may be to come up with the required marketing solutions, for the client to then sit in ‘judgment’ over these, after all, “why are they paid all those ‘hefty’ retainers and fees, anyway??”
Herein is where the value of Brand Teams that consist of professionals from both the client and the Agency sides comes to the fore. This way, marketing challenges can be mutually appraised following which a strategic course of action can be agreed upon.
The reality is that truly successful brands, by any standards, resonate and grow with their consumers’ (and their aspirations), thereby creating equity which transcends generational shift and is thus guaranteed to continuously improve ROI. This, indeed, is the bottom-line, as far as establishing meaningful connection with the consumers (the real brand owners) are concerned. This ultimately will guarantee profit and shore up brand image in the long term.

Tomi Ogunlesi is a professional member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK) and is presently an account planner in Strategy and Business Development at BatesCosse, Lagos.