A Big Mouth!

Here's my column in this weeks B&T magazine. I would love to hear your thoughts and comments.

No one likes a big mouth. You know that really annoying friend you’ve got who always talks over you and never shuts up, going off on tangents that don’t interest you. It’s like they live in their own bubble and are not in tune with how their action affect the people around them. In their own world, they’re the life of the party, the centre of attention, the one without personality floors or a need to ‘adapt’ 

A relationship with a person like this is destined to fail. It takes too much energy and hard work to foster friends like these and what usually starts with patience, ends in avoidance.

The same can be said for big mouth brands. We all know the feeling when a repetitive, loud mouth brand keeps yelling at you. Going on about stuff that really doesn’t interest you. It shows they haven’t taken the time to listen and get to know you. 

It’s even worse when you have an established relationship with a brand and they go and do something that ruins what you had together.  I was a Sultana Bran fan, eating it religiously every morning until they came out with the  ‘Sultana’s on the Grapevine’ ad a couple of years ago that made me want to drown myself in my cereal bowl. I can’t bring myself to forgive them. Just when you feel you’re really getting to know one another, they do something that makes you feel embarrassed to know them.  

Brands should take a lead from our own personal relationships. The traits that human’s posses in developing long lasting relationships provide a good foundation for marketers to think about. Human relationships get better over time because you get to know one another intimately. A strong brand relationship should do the same. But it requires brands to get off their pedestal, listen & get to know you. When a brand stays true to itself whilst adapting to it’s consumers, it creates a more personal connection that makes every consumer feel special.  And isn’t that exactly what every marketer tries to achieve?

I get the feeling that we’re going to refer to the brand guidelines or ‘brand bible’ less and less in the future as brands become more accessible and adaptable to their surroundings

It’s not surprising that we’re seeing the humanization of brands because people love brands that show more of a human side.