By The Brand Guy
Marketing has a way of being greedy, trying to sell indiscriminately to the entire universe of consumers within its enterprise footprint, regardless of the suitability of the product.
For instance, Harley-Davidson believes in ‘starting them young’ and sells toy motorbikes for children, quite likely a waste of effort given that the brand is seeking to move into new territories with soccer moms, younger diverse segments and electric bikes.
Business logic says focus in a well-defined position. That position will determine your sales, leading to sustainability, profit and all of that. In other words, don’t try to sell the concept of biking to young children. Stick with sales to professionals who can afford the bikes.
The position will determine the core market. In the case of Harley-Davidson, this is male professionals who are able to afford the bikes. From the sustainability of the central position, the brand is able to use spare resources to further develop markets or enter new ones, subject to focus.
To achieve this happy commercial nirvana, personality comes into play. Harley tacitly consented to the Jungian archetype of the rebel, sometimes overtly, and built its brand on that property. It’s position is freedom, individuality and rebellion. In this case position and personality align closely.
The archetype of the bearded, rebellious biker, questing for freedom is an avatar. It bridges marketing and consumption, by informing purchasers of the association that they should hold. It also acts as a sketch for marketers, a reminder of where they should target their marketing and sales.
The very interesting thing about the avatar is that the personality and lifestyle creates aspirations to belong and is not representative of the actual universe of purchasers. Hairy bikers who can afford to live on the road are few and far between. Frustrated middle-aged professionals who have spent years being disciplined aspire to the freedom of the road and buy the Harley brand.
Coke is another excellent example. The visual identity that you see will, more often than not, be happy young people enjoying themselves in a group, in a natural setting. This does not explain the dour, middle-aged individual who drinks a solitary Coke in an office.
The avatar must have a strong aspirational component.
Construction of an avatar is well documented, but there are a couple of points that need to be highlighted. The avatar will be a combination of demographic and psychographic factors, but also behavioural factors.
The first point is that the customer is trying to solve a problem. A middle-aged professional may be frustrated by a lack of freedom due to commitments. The avatar can be used to demonstrate how the product solves the problem, in this case by giving the purchaser the freedom of the open road. Reflect the solution to the problem in the avatar’s behaviour.
Secondly, the avatar must recognise the customer journey. How does the customer become aware of the product or brand? What information do they need during the decision-making process? And what benefit and / or feature tips the decision in favour of the brand.
Some theory positions the avatar as an example of an existing customer. However by communicating to a fictional and idealized character, it is possible to sell very effectively to real people.
*Pierre Mare has contributed to development of several of Namibia’s most successful brands. He believes that analytic management techniques beat unreasoned inspiration any day. He is a fearless adventurer who once made Christmas dinner for a Moslem, a Catholic and a Jew. Reach him at contact@pressoffice7.com if you need thought-leadership, strategy and support.
