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Brand Services –
A user centric marketing tool
White Paper by Rlevance Consulting

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Brand Services are a tool to complement
traditional forms of marketing
communications.
Instead of annoying people with unsolicited
messages, they are first and foremost a
helpful service. Secondly there is a marketing
messages baked right into them.
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The times we live in
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3 factors influence consumerism nowadays
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– Abundance of Choices
– Marketing Distrust
– Customer Sophistication

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Abundance of Choices
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As customers we face an abundance of choices
available time
choices

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Wether in content…
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430.000 hours of new youtube videos
420 million status updates on facebook
70 million photos uploaded to Instagram
1.000.000.000 active websites on the internet
every day…
1.300.000.000 cute cat photos on the internet (estimate)
250 movies released 2014 by the 15 major film studios
Source: intel.com/content/www/us/en/communications/internet-minute-infographic.html
What happens in an internet minute

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…or in products and services to use

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»A wealth of information creates
a poverty of attention«
Herbert Simon

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People are confronted with an abundance of
choices.
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Their attention has become a valuable
resource – everybody asks for it, but only few
are rewarded with it.

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Marketing Distrust
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Source: Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising
Recommendations from people I know
Consumer opinions posted online
Editorial content (e.g. in newspapers)
Ads on TV
Ads in magazines
Billboards / outdoor advertising
Ads in radio
Ads served in search engine results
Online banner ads
0 50 100
67
60
58
53
53
53
42
30
8
33
40
42
47
47
47
58
70
92
Trust completely / somewhat Don’t trust much/at all
Communication has lost credibility

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Advertising is not always 100% truthful

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Interrupting, disguising, tricking

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Marketing Communication has lost
credibility.
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Many companies try to outsmart people,
ignoring that it is about fostering a valued
relationship, not making a quick sale.

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Customer Sophistication
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Forrester Research regard customer centricity a necessity
Source: Forrester Research, 2012
Age of the customer
Buyers empowered by
digital and transparency
make customer centric
companies successful
Amazon
Zappos
Age of information
Connected PCs and
supply chains makes
companies who control
information successful
Amazon
Google
Age of manufacturing
Industrial manufacturing
makes mass-producing
companies successful
Ford
Boing
Age of distribution
Global connections and
transportation makes
companies with good
distribution successful
Toyota
Procter & Gamble

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Forbes Magazine sees Customer Experience as the new
benchmark

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What is Customer Experience?
Memorable experience
in special, extraordinary
situation (positive or negative)
Regular experience
when „using“ company
touchpoints day-to-day

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Source: Forrester Research;
North American Technographics Customer Experience Online Survey, Q4 2011, Base: US Online consumer
Positive experiences increase loyalty and recommendation
Low 0
0.71
0.65
MediumHigh Low Medium High
Willingness to consider the
company for another purchase
Likelihood to recommend
to a friend or colleague
Correlation with Customer Experience

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US company Zappos reaches the top with customer focus

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Netflix wins with it, while Blockbuster goes out of business
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Blockbuster Revenue Netflix Revenue
$6 Billion
$4 Billion
$2 Billion
$0
$ 2.2 Billion
Bankrupt
Source: www.go-digital.net

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Customers know the rules of the game.
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They seek out those companies that
appreciate them and add value to their lives.

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Also for businesses times have changed
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Businesses are in an age of extreme competition

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Shorter innovation
cycles
Competition from
multiple sides
Higher demand for
new products
More and more products
More offers per category
Strong rivalry between offers

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The goal is to be noticed and ultimately preferred over
competitors
your brand

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Today’s Marketing dilemma
need for attention and
preference
Abundance of
Choice
Marketing
Distrust
Consumer
Sophistication

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The solution to this dilemma?
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Painting: Michiel van der Born
More communications
Scream louder, interrupt harder?

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»Innovate« more and create more variations?

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More communications
Engage in price wars?

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I want you to listen
and understand.
What‘s in it for
me?
What it really is about

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A simple solution
Marketing
needs
User
needs

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It is not an »either or«,
it‘s an »and«

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Brand Services: A solution to
balance business and user needs

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Service design is great at delivering on user needs …

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… but usually doesn‘t take the brand into account

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Marketing communication knows how to give a brand
promise …

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… but is extremely bad at creating value for people

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Why not combine the approaches?
Marketing
Communication
Service
Design

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We researched and analyzed 90+ examples
http://www.christianvatter.com/great-examples-of-brand-services/

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Enter: Brand Services
a service that helps promoting the offer/brand
a service that is an add-on to the core offer
a service with little or no costs for users

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Example: Guide Michelin
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One of the oldest brand services offers a list of worthwhile restaurants for travellers

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Example: Kodak Picture Spot
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Recommends best spots from which to take a photograph

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Example: KLM Meet & Seat
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Provides passengers the option to sit next to interesting people, based on Facebook &
LinkedIn profiles

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Example: Adidas Runbase
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A concept store in Tokyo next to a popular running site offering free running gear,
showers & lockers

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Relevant aspects of a brand service
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Brand-fit
Services that deliver
on the brand
Novelty
Services that have
news value
Usefulness
Services that are
highly useful

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Usefulness: Hornbach Projekt-Buch
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A comprehensive book that teaches you everything from laying parquet flooring to
building a pond

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Brand Fit: Sit or Squat by Charmin
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Provides an app called “sit or squat” that helps to locate clean public toilets

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Novelty: Ikea Catalogue
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Augmented reality mode lets you to place furniture into your home via your phone
before going to store

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Relevant aspects of a brand service
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Brand-fit
Services that deliver
on the brand
Novelty
Services that have
news value
Usefulness
Services that are
highly useful
The Ideal

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Ideal Example: KLM Must See Maps
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A digital city plan of KLM destinations, where your can invite your friends to mark
their favorite places
Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dosrsAy4ENY

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Brand service mechanics
positive/favorable
experience with the
brand
experience of the
brand promise
delivered
Service based on user need
Issued by a brand
An add-on to core-offer at little or no
cost for user
Check:
useful
brand-fit
news-value
value for user

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Make people want things
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Make things people want

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http://www.christianvatter.com/great-examples-of-brand-services/
More examples of Brand Services can be found here:

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Content originally published in "Marke und digitale Medien“, Springer Publishing, 2014
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making companies relevant for people
Illustrators Icons (Nounproject): Herbert Spencer / Stefan Kovac / Ates Evren Aydinel / Creative Stall / Francielly Costantin Senra / DKHN / Inn Style
Rlevance Consulting
Christian Vatter
cv@rlevance.com
Berlin, Germany
www.rlevance.com
all intellectual property rights reserved