Romancing the brand

Lovemarks. ‘We will always LOVE you.’

Trademarks were products that learned to crawl; brands are trademarks that learnt to walk upright. What’s next in the evolutionary chain? Lovemarks: brands that soar. How to give them wings?  There’s nothing as elevating as love.” - Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi

I’ve recently become romantically involved!  Not with a person (I’m very happily married) but with an idea. It’s called Lovemarks, and it’s the the work of Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi.

Much is  written about branding.   It’s everything a company does, represented  by the ‘name, term, sign, symbol or combination thereof ‘,  identifying and differentiating  products and services.  Lovemarks takes this concept so much further.

What are Lovemarks?

According to Roberts: “Lovemarks are those brands built on respect which make emotional connections and suffused with the most powerful emotion of all – love.”

Connecting with customers emotionally and forging long term relationships with them will amount to increased business.

As Kevin says: “ It’s the ultimate premium profit generator . … it’s about selling more at higher prices more frequently to more people because you have exclusive relationships with them based not only on trust and respect, but on that most powerful of emotions – Love.”

The Love/Respect Quadrant

Since 2000, Kevin has been using the ‘Love Respect’ quadrant , a perceptual map positioning  Fads, Products, Brands and Lovemarks according to their levels of Love and Respect.

Fads are depicted as high love and low respect; Products – low love, low respect; whilst Brands fall into the ‘low love, high respect’ quadrant and Lovemarks: ‘ high love, high respect’ .

What Makes a Lovemark?

The characteristics of  a Lovemark can be correlated to those of  an enduring personal love. The relationship is between the brand and the customer.

For me, great personal love is underpinned not only by respect, but also care, commitment, interest to the success of the other person and trust.

A Lovemark brand shares these qualities in its customer relationships.   Our brands become Lovemarks when we inject this type of love into what we do.

The Transition to Lovemarks

Commitment to customer satisfaction, constantly striving to innovate and shape our services to our customer needs and communicating in a way which resonates with customers,  combine to demonstrate a brand’s love for its customers.

The vigour with which this is done could be called passion –  described by Tom Peters as  ‘enthusiastic fixation’ (or ‘obsession’). Perhaps Lovemark brands are enthusiastically fixated upon the care and satisfaction of customers. The passion and care of our brands is matched only by the passion and care of our customers. Perhaps it is passion reflected by a brand’s energy  and commitment to consistency which keeps the customer love light burning.

And like any great love, perhaps this feeling cannot be forced. To be true, love must be mutual – only shared if both parties are interested in partaking.

7 Questions: How to Romance Your Brand & Transform to a Lovemark

Assess the following. Ask your customers their perceptions – as it will be their perceptions which ultimately transforms your brand into a Lovemark.

• How much love goes into your brand? Are you nurturing it, committed to it’s growth and success?
• How much do you care about satisfying your customers?
• Are you passionate about shaping your products/services to  your customers needs?
• Are you looking for new ways to satisfy your customers’ needs – enhancing your customer relationships?
• Do you care as much about your brand as you do of our customers?
• Are you committed to the long term welfare of your customers?
• If you answered yes, to all of the above – do you communicate this passion and commitment to your customers in a way that connects with them?

Are Lovemarks Linchpins?

In Seth Godin’s terminology, perhaps Lovemarks are Linchpins – indispensable brands that delight and challenge; that are passionate, believe in themselves, are honest, trustworthy and most importantly, connect with their customers.

Favourite Lovemarks

Here are the Top 200 Lovemarks. (Vegemite is #26!)

Amongst my favourites, is anything by Baz Lurhmann for the consistency, passion and care in creation and nurture.

As Nicole Kidman sings “How wonderful life is with you in the world”. Perhaps, that’s how we feel about Lovemarks.

What do you think?

Further Information & Official Websites:

The Story Behind Lovemarks
Lovemarks The Future Beyond Brands

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