Brand Love - Hype or Reality? What Marketing Experts Say...

If customers like you be afraid, be very afraid.

If customers like you, you might as well be invisible. Here’s why…

I’m writing a new book with a bunch of marketing friends from the industry about Brand Love. As a prelude to the book launch, I gathered soundbites from marketers I respect on the subject of Brand Love. I wanted to know what they thought about the liked vs loved debate.

Why does Brand Love matter in 2015? I asked. This is what they said:

Authentic, Original

“It amazes me when I see brands so focused on how many Likes they can accumulate, that they neglect being “true” to their consumer.

The ones I see standing the test of time remain honest and authentic to their original DNA. They never waiver from it, and their “audience” sees this and remains loyal.”

– Mark Sperling: Red Bull, Troy Lee Designs, Live Nation, Tony Hawk

Likes are Just the Beginning

“Likes are the journey not the destination.

Building an audience of Brand Fans is just the beginning.

It’s the foundation of social media not the roof.”

– Ian Stewart: Converse, MTV, Coca-Cola

Fans and Leaders

“Liking a brand is a linear, rational connection with the content of a brand or company. Loving a brand is a nonlinear, emotional connection with the context of a brand or organization. Like is about marketing with consumers and followers.

Love is about branding with fans and leaders. Loving a brand is a commitment based on earned power and viral media.”

– John Waraniak: SEMA, GMC, No Fear

A Long-Term Relationship

“Consumers today want to be loved, not liked. Brands can do this by weaving their products and services into the fabric of their consumers ever-changing lifestyles and help them to improve the quality of their lives and that of their friends and family.

Once this mutual love affair happens, it has the potential to turn into a long-term relationship that is hard to break, and even tougher for competitors to swoop in and steal consumers hearts and minds.”

– Vipe Desai: Monster Energy Drinks, Surfrider Foundation

Interactions, Moments and Mind-Bombs

“What brands need to focus on is spreading the love. A real deep-rooted love that cuts through the meaningless and sanitized brand ‘moments’ that clog up the digital and analogue airwaves. Most brands are caught up chasing fickle ‘likes’ that are ten-a-penny.

What really matters are creating interactions and moments and mind bombs that really mean something to somewhere about their lives. Stuff that we watch listen read and then think ‘Yup – been there, felt like that.’ This is when the connection is made and the bond between consumer and brand begins to form. This is when the love begins to glow.”

– Adam “King Adz Stone”: Author “Street Knowledge” & “The Stuff You Can’t Bottle”

Love is the Goal

“Love is the goal of the modern marketer. Gathering a million Likes on Facebook is at best a starting point and at worst a side show. In this world of noise, only the brands that customers loved will get noticed.

Why be liked when you can be loved?”

– Jamal Benmiloud: Monster Energy, Red Bull

An Emotional Connection

“When you’re marketing without money you to build an authentic brand.

You have to stay true to the fact that you need an emotional connection”

– Peter Van Stolk, Founder Jones Soda

PLUS! Here’s what Steve Jobs, Seth Godin and Howard Schultz say…

I can’t talk about Brand Love without acknowledging Brand Leaders who have shaped my own opinion on the subject. So here are 3 who I believe have built their career around this key concept:

“The older I get, the more I see how much motivations matter. The Zune was crappy because the people at Microsoft don’t really love music or art the way we do. We won because we personally love music.”

– Steve Jobs, Founder Apple on the iPod vs Microsoft Zune

“In a battle between two ideas, the best one doesn’t necessarily win. No, the idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it.”

– Seth Godin: Author

“In this ever-changing society, the most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart. They are real and sustainable. Their foundations are stronger because they are built with the strength of the human spirit, not an ad campaign. The companies that are lasting are those that are authentic.”

– Howard Schultz, CEO Starbucks

But is Brand Love just hype? Here's what the old school says...

This was a response to a post I made some weeks ago about Brand Love. The head of strategy for a major ad network picked it up and left his comment. In fairness, I’ve left his name off the quote as he’s not here to defend it. It's an interesting point raised and certainly helps put the debate into perspective. See for yourself...

“This is absolute nonsense. This is just not the way the world of consumers works. Consumers do not love brands particularly, no one ever gets 100% of consumers (even Apple) and on top of that all brands have loyal consumers but brands with higher market share have more of them. So thinking brand love is more important than 51% market share is empirically nonsense and the exact opposite of what purchasing behaviour shows. It’s all myth."

– Head of Strategy for major Advertising Network

So what do you think? Liked or Loved?

Do you think “Love is All Need” in 2015? Or do you think Love is over-hyped?