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We are delighted to present the first of a series of articles written by distinguished branding expert Martin Lindstrom. Martin has a worldwide reputation and is considered to be one of branding’s most original thinkers.

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Consumer power in a flash
by Martin Lindstrom

By the age of 30, Martin Lindstrom had been an advertising executive at the global giant BBDO, had formed BBDO Interactive Europe and founded BBDO Interactive Asia. Both grew to become the largest Internet solutions companies in their regions.

Still in his early thirties, Martin Lindstrom is considered by the Chartered Institute of Marketing to be one of the world’s most respected branding gurus. He sits on boards around the world and his blue-chip client list includes GlaxoSmithKline, Pepsi, American Express, Mercedes-Benz, Reuters, Visa, Yellow Pages, McDonald's and Kellogg's.

Lindstrom's unique vision is supported by global studies and his last four books, written with industry icons Don Peppers, Martha Rogers, Patricia Seybold and Philip Kotler, are sold worldwide and have been translated into more than 20 languages. His most recent, highly acclaimed book, BRANDsense, is published by Simon & Schuster New York. Visit MartinLindstrom.com to learn more..

On 2 January 2007, something unusual happened in the small German city of Braunschweig. Nine hundred and thirty-one of its 245,500 inhabitants arranged a raid on the local McDonald’s restaurant. It wasn’t the type of raid that ends in violence. It was the type of raid known as a flashmob. Coordinated via cellphone, the flashmob is a gathering of people who come together with one purpose. In this case, it was to storm a McDonald’s and order some 2,211 burgers all at once…and go!

Naturally the incident made headlines in the local press. And perhaps news of this event might not have gone any further. Enter YouTube.

A young guy, nicknamed churchill225, was the first to capture the flashmob raid on video and upload it to the file-sharing site. Soon people in their hundreds of thousands began downloading the video, and along with the viewing and the downloading went the sharing of rumors about making another surprise mass visit to a different McDonald’s. As I write, ten more McDonald’s restaurants in Germany are on the ‘hot list’ of targets. The phenomenon has become a game between McDonald’s and its customers. It’s a game because both sides love the sport. Never before has McDonald’s secured this much positive attention in the press - from its fans. And never before have sales skyrocketed like this. And guess what: McDonald’s hasn’t had to do a thing. (See my latest BRANDflash). In this videoblog, Consumer power in a flash, I interview the CEO of McDonald’s Germany about the flashmob phenomenon. (And don’t forget to check MartinLindstrom.com regularly for new BRANDflash videoblogs.)

Welcome to the brave new world of marketing - marketing that’s run by the consumer, not by the companies that own the brands. In effect, brand ownership has shifted to what I call the MSP generation, the Me Selling Proposition generation, a term I coined in my last book, BRAND sense. Companies no longer own their brands. They still think they do, so let’s not tell them. In a heartbeat, a single consumer can knock down a brand, a fact proven in cases such as that of Jonah Peretti who took NikeID, Nike’s customization service, by surprise by ordering a pair of shoes personalized with the word ‘sweatshop’. Nike declined to produce the order and its legal team started a headline-grabbing campaign which quickly spread across the world.

Then there was the Australian Qantas passenger, Allen Jasson, who caused a million-dollar PR disaster for the ‘Flying Kangaroo’ when the airline’s representatives refused Jasson permission to board his flight unless he removed the anti-George Bush t-shirt he was wearing.

There’s certainly a fine balance in striking the right policy chords for brand-builders. The reality is that this is just the beginning. Companies clever enough to see the writing on the wall have the best chance of beating the trend at its own game. So what can you do to play successfully? Here are a couple of pieces of advice.

1. Give the consumer the power to play with your brand. You might discover your logo used in unusual ways, or see your brand appear in unusual contexts. You might even discover a couple of unfavorable words being associated with your brand. But, if you’re ready to play the game with consumers, the chances are that they’ll admire you for it. The duel might indeed start to provoke your next brand wave of attention, one run by the consumer rather than you.
2. Monitor your brand, not through press clippings, but online, in chatrooms, on YouTube, MySpace…you name it. Be alert to emerging trends that might be, or are being, linked with your brand name. If you detect an interesting trend, let everyone in your company in on it. Consider how to push it to your brand’s advantage by supporting the community in making it all happen. Don’t make it mainstream. Adopt a laissez faire approach - it’s up to the consumer to spread the word, and up to you to encourage them.
3. If the consumer-driven event seems to be a success, take it one step further. Set the next challenge. Don’t portray your brand as a saintly, untarnished entity - who’d believe that? But develop an idea which makes your brand fun by returning the consumers’ challenge and, without manipulating their message, demonstrate that you listen and care for them

Let’s be frank - it’s not easy. But you’d better push the envelope if you’re going to negotiate Brand Building 2.0.

© Martin Lindstrom, 2007

LINDSTROM company profile

Martin Lindstrom and his global team advise some of the world’s top brands on all aspects of brand building and brand optimization. Martin has led, and continues to lead, pioneering research on branding and our relationships with brands. The company’s research benefits from the collaborative effort of academics, physiologists and scientists, united in the purpose of developing innovative ways to build and maintain brands of the future. The insights gained from comprehensive brand R&D programmes inform LINDSTROM company’s world-leading approaches to building brand identities and nurturing lasting relationships with consumers.

Martin Lindstrom’s bestselling books BRANDchild and BRANDsense are ranked among the top-twenty best-selling business books. They contain the learning gained from multimillion dollar global research programmes and question established marketing orthodoxies. Martin’s consultation work, speaking schedule, and LINDSTROM company’s ongoing development work with big and small brands all over the world combine with Lindstrom publishing aims to redefine brand-building to achieve ever more powerful brands and the best return on marketing investment.

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